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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
US crypto regulations are full of complications. On the one hand, there are several regulators in charge of overseeing crypto companies. On the other hand, the differentiation of responsibilities between them isn’t clear. There are several federal laws that may deal with cryptocurrency services to some extent. However, depending on the nature of the asset, a different law applies. Moreover, each state can implement its own regulations regarding the usage of digital assets.At the moment, regulators and politicians are actively working to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets. To ensure that your company stays compliant with the regulations in every state, we’ve prepared a guide to the current crypto regulations in the US.Who are the regulators?The US has a variety of federal institutions regulating digital assets. The exact institution in charge will depend on whether an asset is a money transmitter, security, or commodity/derivative. The main ones include:Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regulates digital assets for purposes of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT)The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversees the issuance and resale of digital assets which are considered to be securitiesThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates digital assets if they mainly qualify as commodities or are used as derivatives.In many cases, it may be difficult to determine the category of the asset the company is working with and, as a result, which agency it should follow. In certain cases, a company may fall under the jurisdiction of several institutions. For example, if a company is a financial institution dealing with futures, it will be overseen by both FinCEN and CFTC.Who is affected?Regulations in the US highly differ from the rest of the world, since digital assets can fall under the jurisdiction of different regulatory authorities depending on their nature. AML/CFT obligations apply to entities that the BSA defines as “financial institutions”. This includes, among others:Money services business Securities brokers/dealersFutures commission merchantsAn introducing broker in commoditiesMutual funds.In 2019, FinCEN issued Guidance, where it considered applying the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to common business models involving the transmission of digital assets (convertible virtual currencies in the terms of FinCEN). Therefore, the following business models can be considered regulated under certain circumstances:P2P exchangers;Hosted wallet providers;Multiple-signature wallet providers (e.g., when a person combines the services of a multiple-signature wallet provider and a hosted wallet provider);Operators of Convertible Virtual Currency (CVC) kiosks that accept and transmit value;DApps performing money transmission;Providers of anonymizing services for CVCs (The regulatory framework that applies to a person participating in anonymity-enhanced CVC transactions depends on the specific role performed by the person. For more details, see the Guidance);Payment Processing Services Involving CVC Money Transmission;CVC Money Transmission Performed by Internet Casinos or any
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