Khurram Dara, a former policy lawyer at crypto exchange Coinbase, is considering a run for New York State Attorney General in 2026, aiming to replace Letitia James.
Dara told Cointelegraph he had not yet decided whether to run for the state’s law enforcement office, but hinted that digital assets could play a role in his campaign if he chooses to do so.
With more than a year until the election, the Columbia Law School graduate has already posted to social media in support of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, found guilty of running an unlicensed money-transmitter earlier this month, and gone after figures like US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a prominent crypto critic.
“My platform would be focused on ending lawfare across the board, which certainly includes crypto,” said Dara. “We just had an election where crypto was very much on the ballot. And we won. But as the federal regulatory environment has shifted and settled, some state AGs believe it’s their role to fill a perceived ‘gap’ in federal policy [...] effectively acting as national policymakers or regulators.”
The current New York attorney general, who assumed office in 2019, has taken several legal actions against crypto entities on behalf of affected New Yorkers, including Genesis, former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, trading company NovaTech and KuCoin.
The US state, as a commerce hub in the country, is home to the headquarters of Gemini, Galaxy Digital, Chainalysis and others, making the AG position significant for how the office handles rules and enforcement concerning digital assets.
“We are seeing the real dangers of unregulated cryptocurrency platforms with schemes like these,” said James, referring to allegations against NovaTech in June 2024. “New Yorkers can rest assured that we will use the tools at our disposal to crack down on crypto fraudsters.”
James’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As of Wednesday, she had not announced plans to run for reelection in 2026.
Dara, a 36-year-old team member at the Council on Foreign Relations, has never held elected office. He was an intern in the New York State Senate in 2006, an intern for the office of Republican Thomas Reynolds in the US House of Representatives in 2008 and a law clerk for the US Attorney’s Office in 2012.