Crypto lawyer faces uphill battle in New York attorney general race
A former policy lawyer at crypto exchange Coinbase is running for attorney general of New York. His bid to represent the crypto industry’s interests runs against a strong Democratic bias and concerns over industry influence in policymaking.Khurram Dara, who also worked as a regulatory and policy principal at Bain Capital Crypto, announced his campaign on Nov. 21. In a video accompanying his post on X, Dara said he wants to stop the supposed “lawfare” that current Attorney General (AG) Letitia James is waging against the crypto industry.Dara said that the reportedly unfair treatment of the industry drives up costs for New Yorkers. New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani recently won his election with a focus on cost-of-living issues.Dara’s campaign faces strong headwinds. James won her last two elections by a wide margin, and there are broader concerns over how much the crypto lobby is influencing policymaking. Former Coinbase lawyer to oppose AG Letitia JamesAccording to Dara, James’ policies hurt New York’s business climate and drive prices higher.“When you play politics with the law, when you regulate by enforcement. When you use lawsuits to make policy that increases the cost of doing business, that increases legal and insurance costs; that increases prices, which hurts small businesses, new entrepreneurs and working-class New Yorkers the most,” Dara said in his announcement video.As AG, Dara would curb the powers of the state’s Martin Act. The statute gives the AG’s office broad powers to investigate and prosecute securities and real estate fraud. Critically, it allows the AG to prosecute these activities “detrimental to the public without requiring proof of intentional or negligent conduct.”Dara and other critics claim that James has used this act for her own political purposes, rather than as a neutral enforcement tool.Under James, the AG’s office led enforcement actions against several crypto firms, including Bitfinex and Tether’s parent company, iFinex. The AG sued it for commingling client and corporate funds to cover up $850 million that went missing. Her office also secured $50 million for investors who were defrauded in Gemini’s Earn program.Crucially for the cryptocurrency industry, Dara wants to reexamine the BitLicense, the state’s regulatory regime for companies involved in digital assets. BitLicense holds stricter standards for reporting, licensing and compliance than other states. Dara and other critics claim that these rules have driven crypto companies from the city. In his announcement video, Dara called the BitLicense “unlawful.”But Dara faces an uphill battle. He’s running as a Republican in a state that hasn’t seen a Republican AG in nearly 30 years. Dennis Vacco, the last Republican to hold the office, lost to Eliot Spitzer in 1998.In 2018, when James was first elected to the office, she defeated her opponent, Keith Wofford, by almost 20 percentage points. The gap narrowed in 2022, but she still won out over Republican Michael Henry 54.6% to 45.37%. Historical tendencies aside, overall approval of Republicans has been dropping nationwide, and New York City, a crucial metropolitan area to secure for an AG candidate, just voted for a progressive Democratic mayor, Zohran Mamdani.