KuCoin settles with New York AG for $22M, will depart New York

KuCoin will exit the New York market, pay $22 million to settle with the New York Attorney General’s office. 

Reuters first reported the settlement.

The crypto exchange, based in the Seychelles, was sued by the NYAG in March. Letitia James, who leads the New York office, accused the exchange of not registering before allowing users to buy and sell crypto on its platform. 

In the original lawsuit, the NYAG alleged that ether constitutes a security. The March lawsuit claimed that KuCoin’s registration should have been filed before it offered ETH, LUNA or TerraUSD.

In a post on X, KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu confirmed the news, saying that impacted users — those based in New York — will receive communication in the form of an email or text “in the next 10 days.”

“I also want to give you a heads-up about potential rumors surfacing in the next few weeks. Please stick to the official website of KuCoin for accurate information,” Lyu added in a follow up post.

The settlement comes a few weeks after the US Department of Justice announced a multi-billion dollar settlement against crypto exchange Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao. The NY AG’s office has actively pursued lawsuits and legal action against crypto companies that have allegedly violated New York laws. 

In October, James filed a suit against Digital Currency Group, Gemini and Genesis alleging that the Gemini Earn program constituted an investment contract.

It also went after Hong Kong-based CoinEx, which subsequently settled with the state for $1.7 million and exited New York.

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