Pro-crypto regulator Adrienne Harris resigns, will leave New York’s Department of Financial Services in October

Adrienne Harris is stepping down. After four years leading New York’s Department of Financial Services, the most powerful crypto regulator in the United States is leaving office this October.

Her exit, confirmed Monday by Governor Kathy Hochul, brings an end to a tenure defined by crypto enforcement, consumer protection policies, and major restructuring of a state agency that went from background player to headline-grabbing powerhouse.

According to a press release issued by Hochul’s office, Adrienne will be replaced by Kaitlin Asrow, who will take over as Acting Superintendent on October 18. Adrienne, a former Obama administration official, had been appointed by Hochul back in August 2021.

Since then, she pushed DFS into the middle of national debates over financial supervision. “It has been a privilege and an honor to serve New Yorkers,” Adrienne said in her official exit statement, thanking both the governor and her team for helping make DFS “a more equitable, transparent, and resilient financial system.”

Adrienne Harris oversaw crypto enforcement and financial reforms

During Adrienne’s four-year run, DFS recovered over $725 million in restitution for New Yorkers. She became the first person from New York to join the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council.

Under her, DFS reworked how check cashing fees are calculated, a move that saved New Yorkers over $22 million. She led efforts to require insurance companies to cover insulin without co-pays.

She enforced guardrails around how AI is used in insurance pricing, particularly making sure underwriting wasn’t secretly discriminating against consumers. She also gave final approval to rules that gave DFS power over Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and her team began examining those businesses for the first time.

Kaitlin, who has served as Executive Deputy Superintendent of DFS’s Research & Innovation Division since 2021, is now set to take the reins. Her background includes time at the Federal Reserve, where she served as a Senior Policy Advisor for both the Bank of San Francisco and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

At the Fed, she helped coordinate innovation policy between all twelve district banks and across the FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Before that, Kaitlin worked at the Financial Health Network, a think tank focused on consumer financial health. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

Inside DFS, she’s best known for building out the department’s crypto oversight program and pushing forward policies related to financial inclusion and technological modernization.

The New York governor said Kaitlin was the right choice to continue the Department’s work, adding, “Kaitlin is well suited to lead the Department into the future.” Asrow’s promotion puts the crypto-heavy Research & Innovation Division right at the top of New York’s financial regulatory structure.

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