The United States is introducing new financial laws which are also applicable to digital currencies. To curb money laundering, the US regulators have proposed an amendment in the Bank Secrecy Act, which make it a requirement to collect details about transactions, which are above $250.

The US regulators also include digital currencies in the upcoming legal statement, which makes it a more difficult situation for companies and firms dealing with cryptocurrency.

Reduction from $3,000 to $250

According to the old law which was implemented in 1995, the companies were obliged only to share the information above $3,000 with the concerned authorities. The old law will be no more, and with the new amendment, the $3,000 limit will reduce to as low as $250.

In the US regulators, the Federal Reserve Board (FSB) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) are responsible for proposing amendments in the Bank Secrecy Act. According to the official press release, the new modification in the law “would reduce this threshold from $3,000 to $250 for funds transfers and transmittals of funds that begin or end outside the United States.”

Cross-Border Transfers

The proposal will be implemented on cross-border transfers and local transfers are exempted from the laws.

The Bank Secrecy Act is a must thing that has to be followed by institutions and organizations, including security brokers, travel agencies, credit unions, banks, currency exchanges, insurance firms, and others. Similarly, the law would also be implemented on crypto companies such as crypto exchanges and crypto lending platforms.

The proposal document has included digital currency transfers by calling them “convertible virtual currencies.” After this, all crypto companies will have to share data of transfers above $250 with the US authorities.

The decision is set to be made on the basis of a report published by the joint efforts of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Federal Reserve Board. According to the report, illicit transfers below $3,000 are common which should be addressed.

After analyzing 1.29 million transactions, 71% of transactions were made in the $500 range or below.