{"id":68151,"date":"2026-01-17T07:31:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T07:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=68151"},"modified":"2026-01-17T07:31:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T07:31:39","slug":"crypto-act-proposal-unlicensed-operations-in-new-york-could-lead-to-15-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=68151","title":{"rendered":"CRYPTO Act Proposal: Unlicensed Operations In New York Could Lead To 15 Years In Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On Thursday, a new legislation was proposed in New York that aims to impose additional regulations on digital asset firms. The proposed law, known as the \u201cCRYPTO\u201d Act\u2014short for \u201cCryptocurrency Regulation Yields Protections, Trust, and Oversight\u201d\u2014would make it illegal for digital asset firms to operate without the necessary licenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The announcement came from Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., and New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie, who emphasized the urgency of regulating the cryptocurrency marketplace in the State.<\/p>\n

NY\u2019s Proposed Crypto Bill<\/h2>\n

According to the duo\u2019s press statement<\/a>, organizations that exchange, trade, or transport cryptocurrencies in New York are required to register for a virtual currency license. Failure to do so has resulted in merely civil sanctions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In contrast, the proposed CRYPTO Act would introduce criminal penalties for operating without a license, bringing New York\u2019s regulatory framework closer to that of the federal system, where unauthorized conduct can result in up to five years in prison.<\/p>\n

The new Act aims to ensure that digital asset businesses adhere to the same levels of diligence and transparency as traditional money transmitters.<\/p>\n

Under the new legislation<\/a>, unlicensed operations would fall under the category of Unlicensed Virtual Currency Business Activity, leading to a series of graduated penalties based on the value of the transactions involved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Offenders could face charges ranging from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony for activities involving $1 million or more within a year, potentially resulting in sentences of 5 to 15 years in state prison.<\/p>\n

A \u201cShadow Financial System\u201d\u00a0<\/h2>\n

District Attorney Bragg expressed concern about the growth of cryptocurrency, describing it as a \u201cshadow financial system\u201d that facilitates money laundering<\/a> and other criminal activities. \u201cCrypto is the go-to means for bad actors to move and hide the proceeds of crime,\u201d he stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bragg further urged that the time has come for unlicensed cryptocurrency businesses to face criminal repercussions for not adhering to due diligence requirements.<\/p>\n

Senator Myrie echoed Bragg\u2019s sentiments, noting, \u201cAs the use of crypto has grown, so has illicit activity.\u201d He emphasized that New York, as a major financial hub, must take seriously its regulatory responsibilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Myrie\u2019s bill aims to align the state with the 18 other jurisdictions that have made unlicensed virtual currency transactions criminal offenses, to enhance consumer protection against potential fraud and scams.<\/p>\n

This legislative push coincides with a letter <\/a>from House Democrats to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins, in which several lawmakers urged the reinstatement of enforcement actions against digital asset firms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The letter sent on Thursday and signed by Representatives Maxine Waters, Sean Casten, and Brad Sherman, expressed deep concerns regarding the SEC\u2019s recent retreat from prosecuting violations related to \u201cdigital asset securities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Crypto\"<\/p>\n

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, a new legislation was proposed in New York that aims to impose additional regulations on digital asset firms. The proposed law, known as the \u201cCRYPTO\u201d Act\u2014short for \u201cCryptocurrency Regulation Yields Protections, Trust, and Oversight\u201d\u2014would make it illegal for digital asset firms to operate without the necessary licenses.\u00a0 The announcement came from Manhattan District […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-68151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}