The New York State Attorney General's Office (NYAG) has seized $1.7 million from cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx and ordered it to cease operations because it is not properly licensed.
The NYAG demanded that CoinEx refund more than $1.1 million to 4,691 investors and pay more than $600,000 in fines. In addition, CoinEx is prohibited from offering, selling, or buying securities and commodities in New York and is prohibited from making its platform available in the state, the NYAG said in a press release.
The order also states that the company has refused to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer, and has misrepresented itself as a cryptocurrency exchange.
"Unregistered crypto platforms pose a risk to investors, consumers and the broader economy," said New York Attorney General Letitia James.
According to the court order, CoinEx must implement appropriate geo-blocking by IP address. The company is also prohibited from creating new accounts for U.S. clients.
Investors can receive a cryptocurrency refund directly from CoinEx within the next 90 days. After that period, they will need to send an email requesting a refund in fiat.
Earlier, we wrote that cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx launched a campaign to attract Hotbit clients.
The CoinEx exchange is a multifunctional platform that combines the features of a cryptocurrency market and a cryptocurrency exchange, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and dozens of other cryptocurrencies and tokens.
