The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) extended the comment period for its recent convertible virtual currency (CVC) proposal as requested by CUNA and other commenters. The proposal was initially issued Dec. 23 with a 15-day comment period, and CUNA wrote with concerns about the short deadline and the insufficient justification for the proposal.

The purpose of the rulemaking is to address certain anti-money laundering threats posed by CVC and legal tender status digital asset transactions involving unhosted wallets or wallets hosted in FinCEN-designated problem jurisdictions. In response to concerns like those expressed in CUNA’s letter, FinCEN’s latest proposal provides:

1. An additional 15 days for comments on reporting requirements regarding CVC or LTDA transactions greater than $10,000 (or aggregating to greater than $10,000) that involve unhosted wallets or wallets hosted in a jurisdiction identified by FinCEN;
2. An additional 45 days for comments on the proposed requirements for reporting certain information regarding counterparties to transactions by their hosted wallet customers; and
3. An additional 45 days for comments on the proposed recordkeeping requirements

Commenters can submit feedback on the proposed reporting requirements by Jan. 30, and all other comments are due March 1.

According to FinCEN, it received more than 7,500 comments during the original comment period.