TL;DR Breakdown
- US Congressmen want Treasury Department to extend deadline for public comments on its proposed new crypto rule
- The new regulation is looking to enact a stricter KYC regulation
A group of US Congressmen has requested the Treasury Department to extend its deadline for a new crypto rule it is proposing. The Department is looking to enact a more stringent Know-Your-Customer (KYC) regulation especially for self-hosted wallets and blockchain nodes.
The nine congressmen, led by Rep. Tom Emmer, believe that the initial 15 days deadline the Department had given for public comments on the proposed crypto rule was too short. Instead, they believe the period should be extended to 60 days at least.
According to the authorities, the KYC regulations have become important in light of the advantages it holds for national security. The new crypto rule was also needed for preventing Anti-Money laundering (AML) activities.
The regulators 15 day ultimatum is expected to end by next Monday but the legislators are demanding an extension citing the holiday period. The letter in part reads “it would be impossible for the public to give meaningful comments with so little time…”
The Congressmen also advised that the authorities give enough time for these different organisations to address the issues raised. They advised that a 6 months window be given to them to implement the technological solutions that would address the national security issue and the money laundering concerns of the authorities.
OFAC Fines BitGo for breaching Crypto Rule
We reported how the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had fined BitGo for breaching its crypto rule concerning implementation of KYC regulations.
The financial regulator said BitGo allowed users in countries like Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria to make use of their services during March 2015 and December 2019.
BitGo paid a fine of $98,830 for breaking the rule with the authorities commenting that the firm was cooperative all through the investigation period.
