Crypto lawyer signals challenge to NY AG with 'lawfare' message

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.”

  Khurram Dara. Source: LinkedIn

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.

Another GOP lawyer challenges Democrat incumbent

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.

Should he decide to run as a Republican, he would not be the first candidate with experience litigating for crypto companies to challenge an established Democrat.

John Deaton, a lawyer who advocated for XRP tokenholders in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs, ran against Warren in the 2024 election in Massachusetts. Warren defeated Deaton with about 74% of the vote.

“New York is where many people in crypto, tech and venture want to be. Incredible density of talent here,” said Dara. “I think the state should embrace that, rather than try to run from it [...] the crypto community is not asking for special treatment or special policies that favor them. They just don’t want to be targeted unfairly with regulation by litigation.”

A Siena College poll from December 2024 reportedly  gave  James a 40% favorable rating among New Yorkers. As of August, the only other candidate to throw his hat into the ring for New York AG in 2026 is Republican Michael Henry, who lost to James in 2022 with about 45% of the vote.