New York Attorney General report on crypto market manipulation

 New
York state Attorney General Barbara D.
UnderwoodAP Photo/Hans Pennink,
File

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The fledgling cryptocurrency trading market is vulnerable to
market manipulation and failing to provide basic consumer
protections, according to a new report released on Tuesday by the
New York Attorney General office. 

The report calls into questions a set of practices undertaken by
crypto exchanges, noting that a number of them failed to
implement serious efforts to monitor and stop manipulative
trading. Some crypto exchanges also engage in overlapping lines
of business that present serious conflicts of interest, the
report said. 

“New Yorkers deserve basic transparency and accountability when
they invest — whether on the New York Stock Exchange or on a
cryptocurrency platform,” New York Attorney General Barbara
Underwood said in the statement. “Yet, as our report
details, many virtual currency platforms lack the necessary
policies and procedures to ensure the fairness, integrity,
and security of their exchanges.” 

The NY AG started a fact-finding inquiry in April, asking for
voluntary information disclosure from 13 major digital currency
trading platforms, including Bitfinex, Bitstamp, Coinbase, and
Gemini Trust. Four of them refused to respond, claiming that they
didn’t allow trades within New York State. 

The Attorney General then referred three platforms — Binance,
Gate.io and Kraken — to the New York Department of Financial
Services for possible illicit operation within New York. 

US regulators are stepping up their oversight of the crypto
industry. Wall Street regulators
issued a string of actions last week against companies that
have been involved with cryptocurrencies, in the first major
attempts to regulate the burgeoning industry.

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