NYDFS Issues Cybersecurity Guidance as Crypto Scam Losses Top $13B

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has issued new cybersecurity guidance for regulated financial services entities, including those that hold BitLicenses. The guidance clarifies NYDFS' expectations for designing, conducting, and updating risk assessments that underpin their cybersecurity programs.

The guidelines identify common deficiencies observed during examinations, including incomplete asset inventories, weak or inconsistent risk methodologies, failure to account for emerging threats and concentration risk, insufficient governance and documentation, and a disconnect between risk assessment results and actual cybersecurity controls.

FinCEN has identified nearly $13 billion linked to crypto scams, with over 33,900 Bank Secrecy Act reports filed between September 2023 and December 2025. The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) found that these scams are largely operated by transnational criminal organizations based in Southeast Asia.

Block, Inc. has submitted an application to establish Builders Bank & Trust, N.A., a federally regulated national trust bank under OCC supervision. The new bank would focus on custody and fiduciary services, including for Bitcoin and stablecoins.