The Supreme Court of the State of New York County received court documents from cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin on Tuesday, which revealed the exchange had agreed to pay a total of $22 million and stop providing access to users in the state.To settle allegations that it broke securities laws by offering tokens, including ether, that fit the definition of a security without registering with the attorney general’s office, Kucoin will return $16.77 million to New York customers and pay $5.3 million to the state attorney general of New York.
The lawsuit was brought in March by Attorney General of the State of New York Letitia James, marking the first time a regulator had asserted in court that ether constituted a security.
“I want to update all of you about our latest compliance action. @kucoincom has reached a settlement with the New York Attorney General (NYAG), solidifying our commitment to compliant operations,” KuCon CEO Johnny Lyu said in a tweet.
According to the document, KuCoin must shut down relevant accounts and stop access to its services for users in New York no later than 120 days following the order’s effective date.