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U.S. Considers Amending Bank Secrecy Act to Strengthen Financial Institution Groups' Reporting Requirements on Cryptocurrency Transactions

The US Treasury (DOT) released a semi-annual regulatory agenda on August 16, revealing that the federal government is about to level the regulatory environments for cryptocurrencies and traditional fiat currencies. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRS) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) plan to amend the meaning of "currency" as used in the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to strengthen the Financial Institution Group's reporting requirements for domestic and cross-border cryptocurrency transactions. According to the agenda: "The agencies (FRS and FinCEN) want the revised proposal to ensure that the rules apply to domestic and cross-border transactions involving convertible virtual currencies, which are a medium of exchange (such as cryptocurrencies) that have value equivalent to money or can substitute for money but lack legal tender status." However, the proposal also extends the reporting requirements to digital assets with legal tender status, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The final notice of the proposed rulemaking is currently scheduled for September 2025, subject to approval.