New York Attorney General Leads 17 States in Opposing the Clarity Act

According to BlockchainReporter, New York Attorney General Letitia James led a bipartisan coalition of 17 other state attorneys general on September 14 in opposing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. In a letter to Senate Banking Committee leaders Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren, the coalition warned that the legislation would strip states of their authority to police cryptocurrency fraud by giving the Securities and Exchange Commission sweeping power to preempt state registration authorities.

The attorneys general cited escalating fraud statistics, noting that the FBI reported $11.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related losses in 2025, while the Federal Trade Commission tallied $1.78 billion. New York reported that crypto scam complaints have tripled over three years. James stated that the measure would embolden scammers and urged Congress not to pass the bill ahead of an expected Senate vote. The opposition follows the National Sheriffs' Association dropping its own opposition earlier in the month. James's office highlighted past enforcement actions against firms such as Tether, Gemini, Genesis, and KuCoin as critical tools in fighting fraud.