2021-01918: Requirements for Certain Transactions Involving Convertible Virtual Currency or Digital Assets

Summary

On December 23, 2020, FinCEN published a notice of proposed rulemaking (the "NPRM") proposing requirements for banks and money services businesses ("MSBs") related to certain transactions involving convertible virtual currency ("CVC") or digital assets with legal tender status ("LTDA"). On January 15, 2021, FinCEN published a document reopening the comment period for the NPRM (the "Reopening Notice"). In the Reopening Notice, FinCEN provided an additional 15 days for comments on the NPRM's proposed reporting requirements regarding information on CVC or LTDA transactions greater than $10,000, or aggregating to greater than $10,000, that involve unhosted wallets or wallets hosted in a jurisdiction identified by FinCEN. FinCEN further provided in the Reopening Notice for an additional 45 days for comments on the NPRM's proposed requirements that banks and MSBs report certain information regarding counterparties to transactions by their hosted wallet customers, and on the NPRM's proposed recordkeeping requirements. This notice of extension of comment period ("Extension Notice") extends the reopened comment period to allow additional time to respond to all aspects of the NPRM and sets one closing date for the comment period, instead of the two currently in effect. Accordingly, all comments to the proposed NPRM are now due 60 days from the date of publication of this Extension Notice.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 3 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 31 CFR 1010 General Provisions
• 31 CFR 1020 Rules for Banks
• 31 CFR 1022 Rules for Money Services Businesses