New York AG Letitia James Opposes the Crypto Bill Coinbase Wants Passed August 3

New York Attorney General Letitia James says a crypto bill in the Senate would leave scam victims with nowhere to turn. Coinbase wants that same bill passed within days. James sent her case to a Senate investigations panel on Monday.

She wants tougher crypto oversight, not less of it. Why Is New York Fighting the Crypto Oversight Bill? The bill is called the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.

It would hand most crypto rulemaking to one federal agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It would also override state investor protection laws. That is the part James cannot accept.

Her office polices securities and commodities for 20 million New Yorkers. Take away that power, she argues, and scam victims lose their closest cop. The House already passed the bill in July 2025.

The vote was 294 to 134. It cleared a key Senate committee in May. How Bad Are Crypto Scam Losses?

Bad, and getting worse. Her testimony stacks up four separate datasets. Source2025 lossesChange from 2024FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center$11.

4 billionUp 22%FTC Consumer Sentinel Network$1.78 billionUp 25.6%TRM Labs illicit volume estimate$158 billionUp about 145%New York complaintsNearly $500 million over 5 yearsAlmost tripled in 3 years The average victim reported losing $62,604, according to the FBI.

Crypto complaints to the bureau rose 21% in a year. James names real cases. One scam worked through Haitian church prayer groups.

Another used Facebook ads to hook Russian speakers, then ran the money to Vietnam. Who Actually Catches Crypto Criminals? This is the heart of her argument, and the numbers are lopsided.

NY Attorney General Letitia James urged Congress not to pass the Clarity Act, telling a Senate subcommittee in testimony submitted today the bill would “neuter” state and local law enforcement efforts to crack down on “rampant” fraud in crypto markets pic.twitter.com/GKXpOznkpf— Brendan Pedersen (@BrendanPedersen) July 27, 2026 State and local agencies are 99% of all US law enfo