The Unhosted Crypto Wallet Rule Is Back

  • January 30, 2022 10:19 PM PST
    A controversial proposed rule that would enforce know-your-customer rules on unhosted or self-hosted crypto wallets may again be under consideration by the U.S. federal government.

    The rule was first proposed at the end of 2020 by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the U.S. money-laundering watchdog. If enacted, crypto exchanges would be required to collect names and home addresses, among other personal details, from anyone hoping to transfer cryptocurrencies to their own private wallets.

    Industry advocates said they were concerned that the rules might be impossible for certain wallets to comply with because they are not controlled by people and therefore are not tied to this personal information. Others were also concerned that the requirement might be overly burdensome for individuals to comply with.

    The rule was driven by then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, rather than FinCEN itself. The original proposal was published on Treasury's website, and not FinCEN's. The watchdog only posted the proposed rule when the comment period was extended.

    The Treasury Department, which is now overseen by Secretary Janet Yellen, revealed that the rule might be considered in this semiannual agenda of regulations, set to be formally published in the Federal Register on Jan. 31. The agenda outlines priorities for the Treasury Department, but it does not indicate that the rules will for sure be implemented, or that they will be implemented as-is. Rather, the agenda is a tool that signals things Treasury will work on over the next six months.

    "FinCEN is proposing to amend the regulations implementing the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to require banks and money service businesses (MSBs) to submit reports, keep records, and verify the identity of customers in relation to transactions involving convertible virtual currency (CVC) or digital assets with legal tender status ('legal tender digital assets' or 'LTDA') held in unhosted wallets, or held in wallets hosted in a jurisdiction identified by FinCEN," the document said.

    A timetable in the section suggests that FinCEN aims to finalize the rule by the end of August, if they choose to finalize it.
  • February 1, 2022 12:37 AM PST
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