Kucoin agrees to ban New York residents and pay $22 million in settlement
Kucoin users from New York will lose the ability to trade within 30 days and will have their accounts closed within 120 days.
Crypto exchange Kucoin has agreed to pay $22 million to the State of New York and to bar residents of the state from using its platform, according to a stipulation and consent order filed in the New York Supreme Court on December 12.
According to the order, Kucoin admits that it “operates a cryptocurrency trading platform on which users, including users in New York state, can purchase or sell cryptocurrencies which are securities or commodities as defined under the laws of New York state and that Kucoin is not registered as a securities or commodities broker-dealer.” In addition, Kucoin “admits that it represented itself as an ‘exchange’ and was not registered as an exchange pursuant to the laws of New York State.”
Kucoin has agreed to close the accounts of all New York resident users within 120 days and to prevent New York residents from obtaining accounts in the future. In addition, it will restrict access to withdrawals only within 30 days, leaving the remaining 90 days available for users to withdraw funds.