Khurram Dara, a former Coinbase Cryptocurrency Exchange policy advisor, considers a run for the New York State Attorney General in 2026, aimed at replacing Letitia James.
In comments on Cointelegraph, Dara said she had not yet decided on the run for the state law enforcement office, but indicated that digital ownership could play a role in her campaign if she chooses to do so.
With more than one year to election, the graduate of Columbia Law School already has Na -Post On social media in support of Tornado cash co-founder Roman Storm, it was found guilty of New York’s federal court in August, and lost after figures such as Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who often connected Crypto to illegal activities.
“My platform is dedicated to ending the law across the board, which is certainly with the crypto,” Dara said. “We just had an election where the crypto was so much on the ballot. And we won. But while the federal regulatory environment moved and lived, some states believed that it was their duty to fill a detective ‘gap’ on the federal policy (…) that effectively acting as a national policy manufacturer or regulators.”
New York’s current general attorney, who has considered office in 2019, has Took a lot of legal actions Against the crypto entities on behalf of the affected New Yorkers, including Genesis, former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, trade company Novatech and Kucoin.
The US state, as a commerce hub in the country, is home to the head of Gemini, Galaxy Digital, Chainalysis and others, making the AG position significant for how the office holds policies and implementation about digital ownership.
Related: New York AG encourages Congress to strengthen protections in crypto bills
“We see real risks of irregular cryptocurrency platforms with schemes like this,” said James, referring to allegations against Novatech in June 2024.
Cointelegraph reached James’ campaign for the comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication. Like Wednesday, he did not announce that he had planned to run for reelection in 2026.
Another Republican attorney challenging an incumbent of Democrat
Dara, a 36-year-old who works at the Council on Foreign Relations, has not yet held elected offices. He was an intern at the New York State Senate in 2006, an intern for the Republican Thomas Reynolds office at the US House of Representative in 2008 and a law clerk for the US Attorney’s Office in 2012.
If he decides to run as a Republican, he is not the first candidate to have litigating experience for crypto companies to challenge an established democrat.
John Deaton, a lawyer who promotes XRP (XRP) Tokenholders in the case of the US Securities and Exchange Commission against the Ripple Labs, ran against Warren in the 2024 election in Massachusetts. Warren Deaton defeated with about 74% of the vote.
“New York is where a lot of people in crypto, tech and venture want to be. It’s incredibly believable density of talent here,” Dara said. “I think the state should embrace that, instead of trying to run from it (…) the crypto community does not ask for special treatment or special policies in favor of them. They do not want to be targeted unfairly in regulation through trial.”
A Siena College poll from December 2024 reported Given James a 40% of the New Yorkers rating. In August, the only other candidate to throw his hat in the ring for the New York AG in 2026 was Republican Michael Henry, who defeated James in 2022 with nearly 45% of the vote.
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