US Treasury withdraws $250 crypto travel rule surveillance proposal

On November 6, 2026, the U.S. Treasury Department, FinCEN, and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors withdrew a 2020 proposal that would have lowered the cryptocurrency transaction reporting threshold from $3,000 to $250 under the Bank Secrecy Act. Officials cited industry changes over the past five years, maintaining the $3,000 threshold to relieve compliance burdens on exchanges while satisfying crypto advocacy groups like Coin Center.

FinCEN rescinds proposed $250 Travel Rule threshold

• ▪The FinCEN and the Federal Reserve rescinded a proposed Travel Rule amendment reducing the cryptocurrency transaction reporting threshold to $250
• ▪The $3,000 transaction reporting threshold remains in place for qualifying cryptocurrency transfers under existing guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
• ▪When FinCEN initially proposed lowering the reporting threshold in 2020, FinCEN argued that illicit actors were increasingly using transactions below $3,000 to move funds
• ▪FinCEN stated in a regulatory filing that it withdrew the proposed 2020 Travel Rule because more than five years had passed, the convertible virtual currency industry had changed, and additional public input would be helpful

Industry groups praise Travel Rule withdrawal

• ▪Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Ji Hun Kim stated that rescinding the Travel Rule proposal was the right decision, adding that lowering the threshold to $250 for cross-border transfers would have imposed an undue burden on institutions
• ▪Cryptocurrency advocacy organization Coin Center stated that reducing the transaction reporting threshold from $3,000 to $250 would have subjected ordinary cryptocurrency transfers to warrantless financial surveillance

Withdrawal reduces regulatory pressure and impacts markets

• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department's withdrawal of the $250 threshold proposal relieves cryptocurrency exchanges and custodial institutions from expanded data-collection and recordkeeping obligations on transfers under $3,000
• ▪Prediction market pricing and market analysis indicated that removing additional regulatory surveillance on cryptocurrency exchanges reduced regulatory pressure on digital assets
• ▪Prediction market pricing following the regulatory withdrawal of the $250 crypto travel rule proposal reflected increased confidence in Bitcoin reaching higher price thresholds by the end of 2026