Offshore Crypto Holdings Interest US FinCEN, As New Regulation Looms

By: Mark Jessy

January 01, 2021 3:32 PM

The United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, issued a brief note on Dec. 31, announcing its intention to propose a change in the Bank Secrecy Act, regarding reporting of foreign financial accounts holding digital currency. Currently, digital assets are not covered by the Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or FBAR, regulations.

However, the intention to propose a change in Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts regulations notice indicates that FinCEN wishes to amend these regulations. This would require citizens of U.S to report cryptocurrency accounts held with foreign institutions, if they are more than $10,000.

This follows an earlier proposal by the Treasury Department in December 2020, to monitor cryptocurrencies being transferred from U.S. exchanges to personal wallets.

There is no indication of when this proposal to amend the regulations may be published, simply that there is an intention to propose it has caused a stir with many in the crypto community not welcoming the recent update from FinCEN.

The U.S has already lost it's regulatory power to Europe, as crypto Companies prefer Europe to set up a base than U.S, with regulatory uncertainty surrounding US crypto Companies

many in the crypto community have urged users to file comments against this proposal, which is seen by some as a parting shot against cryptocurrencies by current Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin,

The U.S. is taking a step forward with regulation slowing down blockchain adoption in U.S.