NY AG Leans on SEC to Slap ’Security’ Label on Ethereum in KuCoin Showdown

New York’s top prosecutor turns up the heat—urging regulators to treat ETH as a security in their case against KuCoin. Another day, another crypto legal grey zone.

Wall Street’s old guard must be loving this—nothing like watching decentralized assets get dragged into their paperwork purgatory.

KuCoin settlement 

The KuCoin case concluded in December 2023 with the exchange agreeing to a $22 million settlement and ceasing operations in New York. At the time, Attorney General Letitia James said the enforcement action was part of broader efforts to hold crypto platforms accountable for unlicensed activity.

Coinbase’s FOIA request has also uncovered additional SEC discussions about digital asset classification, including internal commentary on Ripple’s XRP and the regulatory boundaries between centralized and decentralized blockchain projects.

Coinbase has continued to publish FOIA-obtained documents as part of its legal and public policy efforts to push for transparency around crypto regulation.