United States of America: Announced settlement in Attorney General lawsuit against KuCoin for allegedly failing to register in the State of New York

On 12 December 2023, the New York Attorney General (AG) announced it had reached a settlement in the lawsuit against KuCoin regarding violations of licensing requirements. KuCoin, a cryptocurrency trading platform, was operated by Mek Global Limited and Phoenixfin PTE Ltd. The platform was found to violate New York Executive and General Business Law. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleged that KuCoin acted as an unregistered securities and commodities broker or dealer by offering, selling, and purchasing securities and commodities, including but not limited to ETH, LUNA, and UST tokens and the Ku Coin Earn product within the State of New York. While engaged in the business of the sale of securities and commodities, KuCoin unlawfully represented itself as an “exchange”. KuCoin has agreed to settle the matter without further litigation. As part of the settlement, KuCoin will pay USD 5.3 million to the OAG and will return USD 16'766'642 to current account balances held by New York customers. In addition, KuCoin is required to block New York residents from using its platform and prohibit them from opening new accounts. Existing New York users can only withdraw their cryptocurrencies. The platform must also promptly comply with US law enforcement requests for asset freezing and information sharing.