On December 18th 2020 FinCEN issued a press release asking for feedback on new proposed regulations on crypto transactions in the USA. The key points that stand out in the press release are that customers who wish to send crypto from an exchange to a private wallet must provide information on the wallet owner to the exchange, if the amount is over $10,000 in a single day or for any single transaction over $3,000.
This level of regulation for the crypto industry in the USA was always on the cards, no matter how unpopular it may be. With the total crypto market being the 5th biggest currency in circulation, it would be naïve to think the regulators would leave it unchecked. Looking at it’s number one competitor as a store of value, gold dealers in the USA are required to report all transactions over $10,000. These proposed regulations would bring crypto and gold regulation up to the same level, and would also have one benefit in bringing a level of regulation to the crypto world that would likely attract more institutional investors.
Given the borderless nature of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, why not simply move your assets overseas into the custody of a company that is subject to laws that respect privacy and individual property rights? What we do know is that physical gold held overseas is not tax reportable to the IRS. As such you can purchase physical gold bars from VAULTALP and store them fully segregated in our Swiss gold vault without any reporting obligations. How the crypto regulation takes shape in the USA remains to be seen, but FinCEN are moving fast and this is causing crypto investors to look at their options.