According to the Wall Street Journal, New York Attorney General Letitia James is proposing a new bill called the Cryptocurrency Regulation, Protection, Transparency and Oversight Act (CRPTO) to give her office more power to regulate the crypto industry. The bill will give the Attorney General's Office broader law enforcement powers over cryptocurrency companies doing business in the state, while also providing the New York State Department of Financial Services with the authority to issue licenses to participants in the industry and oversee the state's digital asset licensing system. The bill will be submitted by Letitia James' office to the New York State Senate and House of Representatives for consideration during the 2023 legislative session, which will last until June 8.
The proposed legislation aims to control the crypto industry by requiring cryptocurrency exchanges to conduct independent public audits of their financial statements and compensate defrauded customers. The bill also aims to limit conflicts of interest in the industry, such as when the same person both issues tokens and owns the market where they trade. The bill will also require cryptocurrency companies to set up KYC and ban the use of the term "stablecoin" to promote virtual currencies unless their value is maintained at a one-to-one ratio with the US dollar.