US regulators scrap proposal to lower crypto transfer threshold

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Federal Reserve have abandoned a 2020 proposal to significantly lower the threshold for data collection on international cryptocurrency transfers.

The original plan sought to reduce the reporting limit under the Recordkeeping Rule and Travel Rule from $3,000 to $250 for transactions originating outside or ending within the United States. This change would have required financial institutions to collect and transmit sender and recipient information for a much larger volume of small-scale transactions.

Regulators cited the age of the proposal, noting that the cryptocurrency market and relevant legislation have evolved significantly in the five years since it was first introduced. The decision maintains the current $3,000 threshold for these international transfers. Opponents of the original measure had raised concerns regarding increased bureaucratic costs, privacy risks, and the burden of storing vast amounts of personal information.