Genesis Global Trading Ordered To Pay $8,000,000 Fine by New York Financial Regulator Over Compliance Violations

A New York financial regulator is ordering crypto firm Genesis Global Trading to pay an $8 million fine after it was found to be in violation of the law.

In a new press release, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) says that the crypto trading branch of the Digital Currency Group (DCG) failed to comply with virtual currency and cybersecurity regulations, leaving itself susceptible to hacks and exploits.

Following an investigation, the DFS found that not only did Genesis fail to meet security standards, but it also didn’t meet the compliance requirements of the Bank Secrecy/Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Furthermore, the DFS probe found that Genesis was deficient in filing suspicious activity reports (SARs) and failed to screen with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

As stated by DFS Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris in the press release,

“DFS’s virtual currency and cybersecurity regulations are often cited as the gold standard, providing clear and stringent requirements to protect consumers and safeguard institutions from bad actors.

Genesis Global Trading’s failure to maintain a functional compliance program demonstrated a disregard for the Department’s regulatory requirements and exposed the company and its customers to potential threats.”

Due to the violations, Genesis Global Trading will be forced to surrender its BitLicense, which is a requirement to run digital asset firms in the state of New York.

Under Harris, the DFS has so far levied $140 million worth of fines toward crypto companies – including top US-based crypto exchange platform Coinbase and stablecoin issuer Paxos – to date, according to the press release.

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