Letitia James, the prosecutor, made it clear that the cryptocurrency exchange has voluntarily agreed to pay a fine to the treasury. KuCoin has been accused of breaching securities laws, failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer, and falsely claiming to be a domestically regulated cryptocurrency marketplace.
As part of the settlement, KuCoin is required to refund over $16.7 million to 177,000 investors in New York and pay a government fine exceeding $5.3 million. Additionally, KuCoin is prohibited from offering investment instruments and acting as a cryptocurrency trading platform to residents of the state.
Recently, former Celsius Chief Revenue Officer Roni Cohen-Pavon pleaded guilty and entered into a plea agreement in the United States. The Southern District of New York’s prosecutor’s office reported that he has agreed to testify in court against Alex Mashinsky, the founder of the Celsius crypto platform.