Ellison joins coalition opposing crypto bill, citing Minnesota scam losses

ST. PAUL, Minn. (Valley News Live) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general Monday in a letter opposing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a federal bill addressing cryptocurrency regulation, according to Ellison’s office.

The letter, sent to Sens. Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren, the chair and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, argues the bill would limit states’ ability to pursue cryptocurrency fraud cases and would allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to preempt state registration authority over digital assets, according to Ellison’s office. The coalition includes attorneys general from both parties, including Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

According to Ellison’s office, the Consumer Action Division of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office has received hundreds of complaints of crypto-based scams since 2019. In the last 18 months, Minnesotans’ losses from scams paid in cryptocurrency have topped $10 million, more than half of all scam losses reported to the office during that time, the office said.