New U.S. President Joe Biden has frozen all agency rulemaking, including the proposal by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) relating to cryptocurrency wallets. Biden will appoint someone to “review any new or pending rules,” the White House has announced.
FinCEN’s Crypto Wallet Proposal Frozen, Pending Regulatory Review
Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, has frozen all rulemaking carried over from the previous administration, the White House announced after his inauguration Wednesday. This would include the proposal by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) affecting cryptocurrency wallets. The freeze is “In order to ensure that the president’s appointees or designees have the opportunity to review any new or pending rules.”
The announcement elaborates:
With respect to rules that … have not taken effect, consider postponing the rules’ effective dates for 60 days from the date of this memorandum.
“For rules postponed in this manner, during the 60-day period … consider opening a 30-day comment period to allow interested parties to provide comments about issues,” it adds, noting that the delay could be extended if necessary.
The crypto community welcomes this regulatory freeze news. Lawyer Jake Chervinsky, who played a critical role in spearheading the crypto community to submit comments to FinCEN, tweeted:
President Biden has frozen all agency rulemaking pending further review. This includes former Secretary Mnuchin’s proposal on ‘unhosted wallets.’
The lawyer added: “We fought hard & earned the right to take a breath & reset. Janet Yellen isn’t Steve Mnuchin. I’m optimistic.” Biden has picked Yellen to become the new Treasury Secretary. The former Federal Reserve chair is not a fan of bitcoin or cryptocurrencies herself, stating during a recent Senate hearing that cryptocurrencies are mostly used for illicit financing.
Besides FinCEN’s
