Key Takeaways
- U.S. FinCEN department proposed a crypto bill for making KYC mandatory for self-hosted crypto wallets.
- The Trump administration sought to rush the bill by granting only 15 days for public comments.
- The 60-day extension is seen as a minor victory for the crypto industry as the situation unfolds.
Share this article
Biden’s administration has granted another 60-day extension for deliberation on the proposed FinCEN crypto bill to require mandatory KYC for self-hosted wallets.
🚨 Yet another FinCEN notice released today.
1/
Another 60 day extension for the entire midnight rule-making subject-matter (both the CTR requirements and the proposed record-keeping rule).
Seems to confirm what we had feared: this rule-making was *not* frozen by new admin.
— Peter Van Valkenburgh (@valkenburgh) January 26, 2021
Reaching a Compromise on FinCEN Crypto Bill
The outgoing Trump administration proposed a brief deadline criticized by experts as “midnight rulemaking” in December, giving Americans only 15 days to comment during the holiday season.
After receiving an overwhelming response from citizens amid the U.S. government’s transition, FinCEN granted an additional 15-day extension for the comment period.
The new administration has now added 60 more days to the deadline for obtaining public comments on the crypto bill. The total 90-day comment period will end on Mar. 21, 2021. Peter Van Valkenburgh, the director of research at Coin Center, stated:
“This gives us hope that we can narrow the proposed rule down to just Currency Transaction Reports that are 100% equivalent to reports triggered by 10k cash transactions at banks. That would be equal treatment for our electronic cash tech. Not a bad result.”
FinCEN’s bill would require crypto businesses to record every transaction above $3,000 and submit a currency transaction report (CTR) for transfers above $10,000.
Valkenburgh’s will to compromise with the CTR report suggests that the Biden administration is also looking to green-light the crypto law, stomping out hopes of a complete rollback.
The law, if passed, would extend to self-hosted nodes, wallets, and even DeFi applications.
Moreover, many in the space argue that the industry is not prepared for such a drastic transformation. Crypto business owners and senators alike have asked for an extension of six months to two years for implementing identity protocols in the industry.
Disclosure: The author held Bitcoin at the time of publication.
Share this article
US Congressmen Combat Treasury’s “Impractical Regulatory B…
Legislative representatives and industry leaders have taken a firm stand against a proposed law that would make KYC/AML mandatory for self-hosted crypto wallets. Lawmakers Back Bitcoin U.S. Representatives Warren Davidson,…
FinCEN Extends Comment Period for Wallet Tracing Rule
FinCEN has provided an additional 15 days for comment on a regulatory proposal that would require cryptocurrency exchanges to monitor self-hosted, off-exchange wallets. FinCEN’s New Rule In December, FinCEN proposed…
Looking Back on 2020 and 2021 Predictions
Happy New Year from all of us at Crypto.com Research! 2020 was an unprecedented year for the world and for crypto. Before we fully plunge into 2021 predictions, we will…
Outgoing Trump Administration Rushes Damaging New Crypto Bill
U.S. regulators finally issued a formal notice for KYC/AML registration of self-hosted crypto wallets, the rumors of which have been doing the rounds since last month. While the crypto bill…