In early 2022, the agency hired an independent monitor to assess the condition of the compliance programme and work with Coinbase to resolve the deficiencies — all while the investigation was continuing. The monitor will continue to engage with Coinbase as part of the settlement for another year. The DFS has the authority to extend the such a deadline at its discretion. Under the supervision of the DFS and the monitor, Coinbase has begun to fix many of the flaws and establish “a more effective and comprehensive compliance procedure,” while the business is still not moving swiftly enough to analyse older problematic accounts.
Other cryptocurrency companies have been fined in recent months for allegedly breaking banking restrictions. In August, the DFS fined Robinhood $30 million, while the Treasury Department struck an agreement with Kraken on charges that the exchange supplied services to Iranian clients in violation of US sanctions. The New York Times reports that investigators are looking into Binance for alleged money laundering breaches. FTX was rumoured to be under investigation before to its collapse in November; the company’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, pleaded not guilty to federal fraud charges last week. Last summer, it was also rumoured that the Securities and Exchange Commission was looking into Coinbase for alleged securities breaches.
