Bill > A00944

This bill amends the penal law to establish several new offenses related to cryptocurrency fraud. The key provisions are: 1. It defines "virtual tokens" as security tokens and stablecoins, and provides detailed definitions for these terms as well as other key concepts like "developer," "private key," and "rug pull." 2. It creates the new offenses of "virtual token fraud," where someone engages in deceptive or fraudulent practices related to virtual tokens; "illegal rug pulls," where a developer sells more than 10% of a token they created within 5 years; "private key fraud," where someone misuses another person's private key without consent; and "fraudulent failure to disclose interest in virtual tokens," where a developer fails to publicly disclose the number of tokens they own. 3. The penalties for these new offenses include civil fines of up to $5 million or up to 20 years' imprisonment, with higher fines for non-natural persons. 4. The bill is set to take effect 30 days after becoming law, with the authority to immediately establish any necessary rules or regulations.