The US Federal Reserve, working in cooperation with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, is currently looking for feedback on their proposal to lower the amount at which financial institutions must seek and collect information on money transfers.
This rule change proposal unveiled that the two US agencies are exploring the possibility of a new threshold for international transactions. The institutions want to change the new maximum to be set at $250 – a significant decrease from the present $3,000. The rules for transactions domestically will remain the same.
A statement, issued to the press, also indicates that the two agencies are working to expand the definition of what constitutes money, to encompass transactions conducted with the use of cryptocurrency. They consider this necessary, because currently these rules only apply to transactions involving bank operations.
“The agencies are also seeking to clarify the definition of money as used in the specified rules to ensure that they apply to domestic and international transfers involving convertible virtual currency,” the statement reads.
Although the agencies recognize the fact that cryptocurrencies lack legal status at the moment, the proposal indicates that digital currencies have to be treated as money. They argue that digital currencies are already used as a means of exchange that has an identical value as currency, and in many cases already substitutes central bank currencies.
