Lately, there have been news about the New York State Senator Kevin Thomas proposing a bill to criminalise Rug pulls and other crypto related scams with the intentions of protecting investors and to make sure the fraudulent activities of developers don't go unpunished.
This news brought up some questions between me and a colleague who kinda felt like the bill on Rug Pull was unnecessary because he felt Rug Pull wasn't a crime because the developers are just dumping their tokens/holdings. He also holds the belief that investors should always do their research before investing and should only invest with what they are willing to lose. While I don't agree with some of his point, we can categorically say that Rug Pull is unethical and is now a crime in New York which is a move I support.
While most people like my colleague may feel Rug Pull isn't a major problem in the country that needed concern, I feel the bill is actually quite important so Rug pulls and other fraudulent actions of developers wouldn't go unpunished. I was twice a victim of rug pulls and it really hurts when you invest your money and time in a project only to find out that the develeopers had other intentions and were well known Rug Pullers.
I made this colleague understand that this bill wasn't made to attack developers who had good intentions for their community and project, rather it is a way to protect and secure anyone dealing in any kind of project. The bill will not only ensure a lesser risk when dealing with cryptos but will also ensure the spontaneous growth of many projects.
Some important aspects of the bill worth noting are that the develepers are meant to declare their identity, declare how much holdings they have and how much holdings they have and will be created. Basically, this bill promotes transparency and honesty which are quite rare in the crypto space.
I personally felt Rug Pull was already a crime but now it's gonna be a crime worthy of persecution but just restricted to state of New York. Hopefully, there would be more bills like to guard and secure the interest of investors and to reduce fraudulent activities of some developers around the world.
