“… the Attorney General does not even try to explain how tethers qualify as securities or commodities covered by the Martin Act … the Attorney General should not be afforded the drastic remedy of a preliminary injunction, or an order requiring the Respondents to address blunderbuss document demands, without establishing the basis for its authority to even regulate in this sphere,” Bitfinex’s legal counsel writes in the filing.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/bitfinex-attorney-general-legal-sparring-continues-new-court-filings/
they're talking tough because they know the NYAG has no means to do anything. they're just blowing smoke up bitfinex's ass.
i'll tell you though, i think this situation bodes really badly. it may not be today or tomorrow, but the feds are eventually gonna seize billions of bitfinex and tether's customer money and probably their domains and servers as well. tether's status may not put them under the NYAG's jurisdiction, but the existence of CFTC-regulated futures markets definitely puts them under federal jurisdiction wrt things like market manipulation. the feds have been digging deep into bitfinex since 2017 and that hammer will eventually come down. when that happens, bitfinex's counsel won't be talking shit.