BlockFi Receives Cease and Desist Order From New Jersey Attorney General

Crypto lending platform BlockFi has received an order from New Jersey's acting attorney general (AG) to halt its Interest Account (BIA) operations in the U.S. state.

• BlockFi CEO Zac Prince confirmed his company had received the order late Monday.
• Prince said BlockFi remains "fully operational" for its existing clients in New Jersey and that all aspects of the platform continue to be accessible for its clients in the state.
• CoinDesk contacted Prince, who declined to comment further.
• The acting AG's order requests BlockFi to stop accepting new BIA clients residing in New Jersey beginning July 22, 2021, Prince confirmed in a tweet.
• "We will continue to engage with all relevant authorities to protect our clients’ interests and ensure that our products remain available," said Prince.

• Having just started the job on Monday, Acting Attorney General Andrew Bruck appears to be setting the tone of his new role.
• The order is the latest headache for the embattled lender that, in May, incorrectly deposited and then tried to reverse excessive amounts of bitcoin to users’ accounts.
• The order states that BlockFi held $14.7 billion through BIA sales as of March 31.
• BlockFi was also hit by an attacker spamming its platform with fake sign-ups and abusive language in March.

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