Top US crypto regulator Adrienne Harris is resigning from her position as the superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services. New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Harris’s departure on Monday, which will be effective in October. Harris served in the position for four years.
“It has been a privilege and an honor to serve New Yorkers, delivering positive outcomes for consumers; cementing DFS as a global regulatory leader; and transforming the Department’s operations,” Harris said in a statement. “I want to express my deep gratitude to Governor Hochul and to the DFS team for the excellent work they do every day to create a more equitable, transparent, and resilient financial system.”
Top Crypto Regulator Steps Down from NY Role
In a press release, Hochul touted Harris’s role in “rebuilding the Department into a regulator fit for the financial capital of the world.” “I’d like to thank Superintendent Harris for her four years of service at DFS, working every day to make our financial system work for New Yorkers, while also rebuilding the Department into a regulator fit for the financial capital of the world,” Governor Hochul said.
The NY Governor went on to confirm that Kaitlin Asrow will serve as Acting Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services, effective October 18, 2025. “Between her time at the Federal Reserve, Financial Health Network, and within DFS, Kaitlin is well-suited to lead the Department into the future, expanding access to affordable financial services for all New Yorkers while ensuring our great state continues to be a center for responsible innovation.”
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Throughout Harris’s career and tenure as the superintendent, she helped lay down enforcement actions against leading companies such as Coinbase and Genesis, while advancing regulation around technology such as stablecoin issuance on blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. Furthermore, new guidance around blockchain, as well as other frontier technologies including artificial intelligence from the Trump Administration changed Harris’s role and expectations.
In a Monday interview with Politico, Adrienne Harris said that she plans to take time off before finding her next gig. “My checking account will tell me how much time I get,” she joked. “Since we published our original guidance in 2023, we’ve seen through our ongoing supervision more companies enter the space, more assets under custody, and more sub-custodial relationships,” Harris added. “To protect consumers invested in digital assets, we wanted to ensure our expectations remain clear relative to these sub-custodial relationships.”