Samourai Wallet, Strike and Others Ask FinCEN to Withdraw Proposed Rules Tied to Crypto Mixing

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Samourai Wallet, River, Strike, Swan, and other companies in the cryptocurrency space have sent a letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), commenting on the proposed rules over mixing transactions introduced in October. These companies are asking FinCEN to withdraw its proposal because it considers it inadequate for many reasons, criticizing it for being “overbroad” and including lawful activities under its scope.

Samourai Wallet Blasts FinCEN Cryptocurrency Mixing Proposed Requirements

A group of 26 companies linked to the cryptocurrency industry have sent a letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Treasury, commenting on the validity of the rules the institution has proposed to apply for cryptocurrency mixing transactions in October.

The letter, produced by Samourai Wallet and Ten31 and co-signed by River, Strike, Ronindojo, Swan Bitcoin, Primal, GRIID, Zaprite, Peach, Mempool Space, Upstream Data, Stakwork, Vida Global, Voltage, Coinkite, Mutiny Wallet, Standard Bitcoin Company, Satoshi Energy, Cathedra Bitcoin, Anchorwatch, Bitnob, Oshi, Battery Finance, Fold, and Start9 asks FinCEN to withdraw the rules proposed based on several reasons, calling them overbroad and telling these would interfere with valid security practices for blockchain networks.

The co-signers of the letter state that the application of these rules would “overly burden our use of such technologies in ways that would not assist FinCEN in achieving its mandate of preventing money laundering and other illicit use of money.”

The letter also comments that the proposed rules classify the practices considered by most industry actors to be lawful as mixing, encumbering the use of these measures for privacy-related objectives. In this regard, the co-signers state:

Employing these techniques to safeguard valuable digital assets is as routine and mundane and free of illicit purpose as using two-factor authentication to secure a digital wallet.

Furthermore, it argues that FinCEN does not need to impose more reporting duties on companies already reporting flagged or suspicious transactions, with this data being available on public blockchains for the institution. “Covered financial institutions should not have to become de facto law enforcement officers to make investigations easier for FinCEN,” it concludes.

What do you think about Samourai Wallet’s take on the proposal of rulemaking for cryptocurrency mixing transactions? Tell us in the comments section below.