New York State Attorney General: "Bitcoin Can Cause Tremendous Losses"

Concerns Over Fraud and Conflicts of Interest
Chain of Cryptocurrency-Related Fraud Cases Uncovered

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The New York State Attorney General and Prosecutor, who has been cracking down on cryptocurrency-related companies day after day, has now issued a strong warning to investors.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Attorney General Letitia James expressed concerns on the 1st (local time) in a statement, urging extreme caution when investing in Bitcoin.

Attorney General James warned, "Cryptocurrencies carry high risks and can cause tremendous losses."

James also raised concerns about conflicts of interest in cryptocurrency trading. She criticized, "Many cryptocurrency exchanges are investing on their own without regulatory oversight and are even trading on their own exchanges."

James emphasized that U.S. law enforcement's access to cryptocurrency exchanges operating worldwide is limited, making it difficult to protect investors if fraud occurs. She also warned that attempts at fraud are increasing as Bitcoin prices rise, urging investors to be cautious.

In February, James strongly responded to cryptocurrencies by filing a lawsuit to shut down Coinseed, an illegal cryptocurrency trading platform that defrauded thousands of investors. Tether, Bitfinex, and others also agreed to pay large fines in response to James's crackdown.

Bloomberg News described Attorney General James as having issued the strongest criticism of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin prices rose about 10% in 24 hours, trading in the $48,000 range on the same day.