New York State Senator Kevin Thomas proposes a new bill amendment to create a legal framework to punish crypto crimes.
Thomas introduced the amendment to define specific offenses related to rug pulls, fraud, and scams in the crypto space, including misuse of private keys and concealed interests in crypto projects.
Senate Bill S8839 calls for defining, penalizing, and criminalizing frauds intended to deceive investors.
It also proposes an amendment that will allow legal charges to be filed in instances of rug pulls where developers sell “more than 10% of such tokens within five years from the date of last sale.”
Private key fraud concerns revealing or misusing another individual’s private keys without prior consent. The bill also aims to charge developers who fraudulently fail to disclose an interest in specific tokens based on personal holdings.
The bill is currently under review to determine its eligibility for floor consideration.
Two members of the House of Representatives are also looking to bring more legislation into the blockchain. California Representative Norma Torres and Arkansas Representative Rick Crawford proposed legislation to reduce financial risks connected to El Salvador accepting Bitcoin as legal tender.
The proposed legislation aims to examine the risks to El Salvador’s “cybersecurity, economic stability, and democratic governance.”
Torres recently stated, “El Salvador is an independent democracy, and we respect its right to self-govern, but the United States must have a plan in place to protect our financial systems from the risks of this decision.”
