Global crackdowns target crypto scams and AI deepfake fraud  

Adrienne Harris, the head of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), said New York has an “outsized role to play” in the crypto ecosystem, particularly in shaping regulatory frameworks for digital assets. During a panel on May 14 at Consensus 2025 in Toronto, she said the NY estate is frequently asked to provide guidance on regulators. “With respect to federal regulation and legislation […] members of Congress are often coming to us [NYDFS] asking about our process, about our regulations, about guidance, how they should be thinking about legislation,” Harris said.Interview with Adrienne Harris (pictured left). Source: CointelegraphAccording to Harris, the NYDFS was “unnecessarily tough” and lacked resources in the past. Now, under her purview, she said the NYDFS is “tough but fair,” noting that the digital currency oversight team has since doubled in size.Harris took over as superintendent of the NYDFS in September 2021 after spending time working in the educational, nonprofit, and private sectors. In New York State, crypto businesses must either obtain a BitLicense or a limited-purpose trust charter.“We’ve added nine pieces of regulatory guidance, so it’s still very tough to get a BitLicense or a limited-purpose trust charter,” Harris said. “But I think […] the proof is in the pudding when you see that FTX, Voyager, Celsius, didn’t pass our test and therefore couldn’t do business.”All three of those crypto companies went bankrupt in 2022. The result was a widespread contagion in the industry and years-long legal proceedings. FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Celsius Network’s Alex Mashinsky were sentenced to 25 and 12 years in prison, respectively. Voyager’s founder, Steven Ehrlich, is facing legal charges for allegedly misleading customers.Related: NYC Mayor doubles down on crypto push ahead of city summitHarris ‘hopeful’ for stablecoin legislationStablecoin legislation has been a topic at the forefront of many crypto industry advocates in 2025. Recently considered a bipartisan endeavor, it devolved into a dispute on May 8 when Democrats withdrew support for the GENIUS Act over concerns about President Trump’s crypto ventures.Still, Harris remains “hopeful” Congress will eventually pass stablecoin legislation. We’ve been working with Congress on all the variations of their crypto and stablecoin legislation now over the last three years almost.According to Harris, all recent legislation tied to stablecoin regulation has been reviewed by New York officials. “There isn’t a version of any of those bills, be it House or Senate, R’s or D’s, that don’t come to meet to the team to say, give us your feedback, give us your technical assistance, your insights here,” she said, adding that most of these suggestions have been incorporated into legislations.The NYDFS, according to Harrus, still wants to be “a state path for crypto companies.” Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins

Crypto founders are heading to Washington, DC, to meet with lawmakers ahead of another expected vote on a stablecoin bill that initially failed in the Senate, according to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. In a May 14 X post from the US Capitol rotunda, Armstrong said as many as “60 [crypto] founders” had gathered in DC to support the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, being considered in the Senate and a draft of the market structure bill moving through the House of Representatives. The Coinbase CEO said the Senate could consider another vote on the GENIUS Act “hopefully tomorrow” after it failed to get enough support from Democrats on May 8.“Like any good negotiation, there’s a lot of details to work out at the last minute, but we’ve been stressing the urgency of this,” said Armstrong.Many Democratic lawmakers have said they will not support any crypto-related legislation without a specific carve-out for President Donald Trump profiting from his digital asset ventures, like his TRUMP memecoin and his family-backed company World Liberty Financial. Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.Related: What are the next steps for the US stablecoin bill?This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Tanim Rasul, chief operating officer at Canadian crypto exchange NDAX, said Canada “got it wrong” categorizing stablecoins as securities in 2022, and the country needs to realize that every other regulatory regime is looking at stablecoins as payment instruments.Rasul made the remarks during a panel on May 13 at the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto, pointing to Europe’s crypto regulatory framework as a model for Canada to consider:“I’m sure the regulators are wondering if this was the right choice to approach stablecoins as a security. I would just say, look at MiCA, look at the way they’re approaching stablecoins. It’s a payment instrument. It should be regulated as such.”The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) classified stablecoins as “securities and/or derivatives” in December 2022, following “recent events in the crypto market,” such as the dramatic collapse of crypto exchange FTX just a month before.Related: What Canada’s new Liberal PM Mark Carney means for cryptoCanadian Web3 Regulation panel at Blockchain Futurist Conference. Source: CointelegraphThe agency elaborated on stablecoin rules in February and October of 2023, placing such tokens under the umbrella of “value-referenced crypto assets.”Canada’s stance on digital assets led many top crypto companies, including Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Paxos, to scale back operations in the local market. Crypto exchange Gemini also announced exit plans in September 2024. The regulatory setback, however, hasn’t stopped Canada’s digital asset market from flourishing. According to Grand View Research, the local crypto industry posted revenue of $224 million in 2024, higher than in previous years. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.6% until 2030, when it is forecast to reach $617.5 million in annual revenue.Related: Bitstamp’s departure from Canada is ‘timing issue,’ says CEOStablecoins have emerged as key crypto use caseStablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to a fiat currency, have emerged as a key use case for digital assets. According to DefiLlama, the current market capitalization for all stablecoins is at $242.8 billion as of May 14, up 51.9% in the past 12 months.Stablecoin market cap. Source: DefiLlamaNation-states and economic blocs are increasingly working on stablecoin regulations to tackle the rising usage across the world. While the most used stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar, there is demand for stablecoins pegged to other fiat currencies.Magazine: Legal Panel: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight