Coming a few months after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law prohibiting the mining of certain cryptocurrencies in the state, the Blockchain Association is now exiting the state.
This comes on the heels of a possible fight against federal regulators’ increasingly stringent restrictions on the cryptocurrency industry.
“Blockchain Association is shifting resources out of New York State to focus on federal policy – and we continue to hire and build out our full-time staff in Washington,” Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith told CoinDesk. “Our mission remains the same: to advance the future of crypto in the United States.”
New York is the first state in the country to ban mining activities. It also follows federal regulators’ broader crackdown on the digital assets industry.
At the federal level, the Securities and Exchange Commission has taken action against prominent industry players including centralized crypto exchanges Bittrex, Kraken, and Gemini, crypto lender Genesis.
Regulators’ actions have sparked outrage among crypto advocates, fueling cries for regulators to clarify existing regulatory guidelines to allow crypto companies to register with the federal agency and stem the damage from a recent swath of high-profile crackdowns.