Financial Services special counsel Gary DeWaal spoke with CQ Roll Call on the "extraordinary public brawl" taking place between a Seattle-based cryptocurrency exchange and New York regulators. Gary noted his surprise when the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) published a press release announcing an application rejection that read like an enforcement action. Additionally, a senior officer of the DFS subsequently authored an OpEd article for a blog published by CoinDesk that was even more remarkable for its acidity. As state and federal regulators struggle to enforce traditional rules on rapidly changing fintech, he concludes "the case for a single federal regulator of cryptocurrency is overwhelming." Gary added, "To me, this hodgepodge approach [of multiple regulators] is a big problem waiting to happen and creates a too-high barrier to entry for legitimate firms that wish to provide innovative crypto asset trading solutions." ("New York Regulator’s Conflict With Fintech Firm Spills Into View," May 7, 2019)
New York
