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The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Federal Reserve have formally withdrawn a proposal that would have lowered the reporting threshold for certain international funds transfers from $3,000 to $250, leaving existing recordkeeping and Travel Rule requirements unchanged.
The withdrawal took effect on November 9, 2026, following its publication in the Federal Register. It ends a rulemaking process launched in October 2020 that would have expanded information-collection requirements for financial institutions handling smaller cross-border payments, including transactions involving cryptocurrencies.
The agencies also abandoned a proposed clarification expressly bringing convertible virtual currencies and certain other digital assets within the definitions used by the Recordkeeping Rule and Travel Rule.
FinCEN and the Federal Reserve cited significant industry opposition and changes in the cryptocurrency market as the main reasons for withdrawing the proposal.
The agencies received nearly 3,000 public comments, with respondents raising concerns about the financial and operational costs of collecting additional customer information.
Financial institutions warned that reducing the threshold could substantially increase the number of transactions requiring detailed recordkeeping.
Some also argued that the proposal could disrupt international remittances, increase the amount of sensitive personal information held by financial institutions and push customers toward less regulated payment services.
The regulators acknowledged those concerns in their November 9 notice.
They also noted that suspicious transactions below the existing $3,000 threshold could already be identified and reported through Suspicious Activity Reports.
Another significant consideration was the age of the proposal.
More than six years have passed since the agencies introduced it, during which cryptocurrency markets and US digital asset regulation have changed considerably.
The withdrawal specifically references the GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, which established a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.
FinCEN and the Federal Reserve concluded that any future amendments should account for those developments and undergo another round of public consultation.
The decision leaves the existing $3,000 Recordkeeping Rule and Travel Rule threshold in place for qualifying transactions.
Under those requirements, covered financial institutions must collect and retain specified information about qualifying transfers and transmit applicable information to other financial institutions in the payment chain.
The abandoned proposal would have lowered the threshold to $250 for transfers beginning or ending outside the United States.
It would also have clarified the application of those requirements to domestic and international transfers involving convertible virtual currencies, including cryptocurrencies, and digital assets with legal tender status.
The withdrawal means those specific changes will not be implemented through the 2020 proposal.
However, it does not eliminate existing anti-money-laundering obligations or exempt cryptocurrency transactions below $3,000 from regulatory scrutiny.
Covered businesses must continue complying with applicable Bank Secrecy Act requirements, including suspicious activity reporting and other relevant recordkeeping obligations.
The decision also does not establish that cryptocurrency transfers below $3,000 are automatically private or exempt from customer identification requirements.
Although the agencies have ended the existing rulemaking, they have not ruled out introducing revised requirements.
The Federal Register notice states that regulators believe further public feedback would be necessary before adopting similar amendments.
The agencies also indicated that any future rules involving convertible virtual currencies should reflect developments in the market and the regulatory frameworks established since 2020.
The decision follows FinCEN’s October 5 withdrawal of two other proposed digital asset rules involving transactions with unhosted wallets and cryptocurrency mixing services.
Together, the withdrawals mark the abandonment of several proposed expansions of US cryptocurrency-related financial reporting and compliance requirements.
They do not, however, reverse the government’s existing authority to investigate illicit cryptocurrency transactions or enforce applicable financial-crime laws.
For banks, money transmitters and cryptocurrency businesses, the immediate outcome is regulatory certainty: the proposed $250 international-transfer threshold will not take effect, and the existing $3,000 requirements remain unchanged.
The next question is whether FinCEN and the Federal Reserve will introduce a new proposal designed around the current cryptocurrency market.
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