Vermont Joins Ranks of States Probing Crypto Lender BlockFi

UPDATE (July 27, 18:55 UTC): The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation has given BlockFi 30 days to convince its commissioner not to impose a cease-and-desist on the crypto lender. The headline has been updated. Read the full order below.

Embattled cryptocurrency lender BlockFi is facing scrutiny from regulators in a fourth state, Vermont, over the legality of its interest account product.

According to BlockFi’s website, securities regulators in Vermont have issued an order on the matter. What that order said is not yet known.

But it comes as agencies in Alabama, Texas and New Jersey are investigating whether the firm's marquee offering, the BlockFi Interest Account (BIA), violates local securities laws. New Jersey has given BlockFi until July 29 to explain itself before the state bars the firm from opening new accounts.

BlockFi has countered that it does not believe BIA is a security. It said it is in active discussions with regulators on the matter.

Neither BlockFi nor the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation responded to a request for comment from CoinDesk.