A proposed amendment to U.S. Bank Secrecy Act suggests tightening regulations for cryptocurrencies. A press release from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Federal Reserve Board (FSB) announced that these entities will receive public comments on the proposal beginning October 23.

The proposal aims to amend the provisions of the rules known as the “record keeping and travel rule”. If accepted, financial institutions would be required to report information on transfers worth more than $ 250 for international transactions. Currently, the rule applies to transactions greater than $ 3,000 in value, so this suggestion means a significant reduction in the amount transferred.

Comments will be accepted until November 23 of the current year. Regulators clarify that the change will only apply to transactions that begin or occur outside of the United States. In addition, the authorities state that transactions with "virtual currencies and digital assets" such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP also qualify for the rule:

The proposed rule also further clarifies that these rules apply to transactions above the applicable threshold in convertible virtual currencies, as well as to transactions in digital assets with legal tender status, by defining the meaning of "money" as it is in certain defined terms is used, clarifies.

In the case of these assets, however, the standard applies to “domestic and cross-border transactions”. The agencies estimate that BTC transactions alone rose from $ 366 billion in 2019 to $ 312 billion "by 2020 and August", as shown in the figure below. They also indicate that Bitcoin's market cap has risen sharply. The authorities carry out:

(...) Malicious actors have used CVCs (cryptocurrencies) to facilitate international financing of terrorism, the proliferation of weapons, sanction evasion and transnational money laundering, as well as to buy and sell controlled substances, stolen and fraudulent identification documents and access devices Goods, malware and other computer hacking tools, firearms and toxic chemicals.