FinCEN and Fed Withdraw Plan to Cut Travel Rule Threshold to $250

The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Federal Reserve on Nov. 6 filed a notice withdrawing their 2020 proposal to lower the threshold for cross-border transfers from $3,000 to $250, according to Bitcoin.com and CoinSpectator. The withdrawal takes effect Nov. 9.

Details

The proposal was published in the Federal Register on Oct. 27, 2020. It would have required banks and nonbank financial institutions to collect and keep information on cross-border transfers of $250 and up, and it explicitly covered convertible virtual currencies. The existing $3,000 threshold stays in place.

Per the reports, the agencies cited the proposal's age (more than five years) and developments in digital assets, including the GENIUS Act stablecoin law, and said they will take no further action on it. The proposal drew nearly 3,000 comments raising compliance costs for smaller institutions, privacy and Fourth Amendment concerns.

What it means for the market

US exchanges and wallet providers keep the current $3,000 threshold for cross-border transfer data, with no tightening to $250. It follows October's move, when FinCEN withdrew its rules on unhosted wallets and mixers. Track the live price in the daily brief.