美国金融犯罪执法局撤回加密货币钱包和混币器报告提案

The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network withdraws regulatory proposals for self-custodial wallets and cryptocurrency hybrids

The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has formally withdrawn two long-suspended proposals for cryptocurrency regulatory rules that are mainly aimed at transactions involving self-custodial wallets and cryptocurrency hybrid services. This move marks the official end of relevant regulatory measures that began in 2020 and 2023. FinCEN withdrew both proposals on October 5 after considering public comments. The U.S. Treasury Department said the decision conforms to the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda and aims to make digital asset regulation more in line with actual needs.

Meanwhile, other jurisdictions are tightening oversight of the flow of crypto assets between regulated platforms and user-controlled wallets, and the U.S. move removes previously proposed federal reporting requirements.

Self-custody wallet proposal was abandoned after nearly six years in the making.

The proposal, introduced in December 2020, required banks and money services companies to collect and retain information about certain transactions involving wallets held by unregulated financial institutions. Under the original plan, transactions exceeding $3,000 would trigger record-keeping requirements involving customers and counterparties, while transfers exceeding $10,000 would require a report to FinCEN. The original framework also covered wallets held by agencies in certain foreign jurisdictions.

The Treasury then used these thresholds as an extension of its existing Bank Secrecy Act controls. However, with the withdrawal of the proposal, the federal framework that never came into effect ended. But this does not mean that FinCEN is prohibited from using its existing anti-money laundering powers to regulate financial institutions or suspicious crypto activity.

This trend in the United States contrasts with new control measures in other regions. For example, Thailand recently finalized a travel rule that requires licensed cryptocurrency companies to verify ownership or control of self-managed wallets when customers transfer assets through regulated platforms. Brazil has gone further in transaction reporting, with its new framework requiring regulated agencies to cover US$10,000 self-custodial transfers that move between the supervision platform and user-controlled addresses when reporting to Coaf.

FinCEN abandons extensive cryptocurrency mixer proposal

FinCEN also withdrew its proposal for a convertible virtual currency mixing service it submitted in October 2023. The initiative has identified international cryptocurrency mixing services as a transaction category that is primarily of concern to money laundering under Section 311 of the American Patriot Act. Under the original proposal, covered financial institutions would be required to report any transactions they knew, suspected, or reasonably suspected of involving cryptocurrency mixes within or involving foreign jurisdictions.

FinCEN initially linked the proposal to the use of currency mixers by ransomware groups, sanctioned actors, terrorist organizations and North Korean state-backed hackers. The agency officially marked the rule-making process as "withdrawn" on October 5.

Coin Center calls the withdrawal a victory for privacy rights.

Coin Center, a cryptocurrency policy group that opposes the two measures, said the cancellation of the proposals is a major victory for financial privacy and Americans 'ability to directly use cryptocurrency for transactions. The group believes that the wallet proposal will collect information on people who are not customers of reporting agencies, and that the definitions used in the currency mixer framework are too broad and could inadvertently capture legitimate privacy protection activities.

Currently, the regulatory treatment of self-managed assets remains fragmented around the world. Spain recently excluded user-controlled wallets from its Modelo 721 overseas asset reporting system, while Thailand and Brazil are moving towards adding verification or reporting requirements when assets cross regulated services and private wallets.