NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris Departs Crypto Regulator, Kaitlin Asrow Acting Head

New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Superintendent Adrienne Harris will step down from her position next month, Governor Kathy Hochul announced. Harris, who served as acting superintendent since August 2021, will officially depart on October 17, 2025. NYDFS Executive Deputy Superintendent of Research and Innovation Kaitlin Asrow will assume the role of acting head. Under Harris's leadership, NYDFS strengthened cryptocurrency regulation through 11 regulatory guidance documents enhancing the landmark BitLicense framework. The regulator conducted significant enforcement actions including the investigation into Paxos-issued BUSD stablecoin. NYDFS remains the pioneering state regulator that established comprehensive crypto firm regulations with BitLicense a decade ago.