New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued a pair of alerts related to cryptocurrency, with one aimed at financial industry entities involved in this sector and one for investors who might be considering putting their money into these vehicles.
“Too often, greedy industry players take unnecessary risks with investors”™ money,” James said. “But, today, we”™re leveling the playing field and issuing alerts to both investors and industry members across the nation.”
James”™ alert to the financial industry warned brokers, dealers, salespersons and investment advisers that her office would bring criminal and civil lawsuits against them if they fail to register with the state when doing business with cryptocurrencies.
“We will not hesitate to take action against anyone who violates the law,” she said. “Two weeks ago, we filed a lawsuit to shut down Coinseed”™s fraudulent operation. Last week, we ended both Bitfinex and Tether”™s illegal activities in New York. And now, today, we”™re sending a clear message to the entire industry that you either play by the rules or we will shut you down.”
For investors, James”™ alert highlighted “extreme risk” of cryptocurrency investments and requested that they give great thought before dabbling in this sector.
“All investors should proceed with extreme caution when investing in virtual currencies,” she said. “Cryptocurrencies are high-risk, unstable investments that could result in devastating losses just as quickly as they can provide gains.”
