James Fights Clarity Act, Cites $500M in Crypto Scam Losses

New York Attorney General Letitia James has called on Congress to strengthen regulations on the cryptocurrency market, citing billions of dollars in scam losses each year.

In written testimony to a Senate subcommittee, James argued that the industry's lack of oversight allows scams to flourish and harm Americans.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which would hand oversight of digital assets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is a major point of contention for James. She warned that this legislation would severely limit state and local law enforcement's ability to protect residents from fraud.

According to James' office, complaints about cryptocurrency scams have tripled over the past three years, with nearly half a billion dollars in reported losses over the last five years.