New York State Attorney General Joins 17 States in Opposing CLARITY Act

According to the official website of the New York State Attorney General’s Office, New York Attorney General Letitia James, joining attorneys general from 17 states including Arizona and California as well as the District of Columbia, formally opposed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (Clarity Act) in a September 14 letter to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren. The coalition warned that the bill would undermine states’ law enforcement authority to combat cryptocurrency fraud, grant the SEC unilateral power superseding state registration authorities, and potentially destabilize the existing state securities regulatory framework. FBI data shows that losses from cryptocurrency-related complaints reached $11.4 billion in 2025, a 22% year-over-year increase; New York reported nearly $500 million in crypto fraud losses over the past five years. The attorneys general urged Congress to amend the legislation to explicitly preserve states’ law enforcement and registration regulatory authority over digital assets, and to strengthen law enforcement cooperation mechanisms between federal and state governments.