FinCEN looking for digital currency policy advisor as it ramps us KYC regulation

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The U.S. Treasury Department is seeking to hire a policy advisor to guide its digital currency oversight duties. The new position comes just weeks after it proposed Know-Your-Customer regulations for non-hosted digital asset wallets.

As per the job post, the position of the Strategic Policy Officer will be in the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which falls under the Treasury. FinCEN is charged with collection and analysis of data to curb money laundering and other financial crimes.

The successful applicant will “provide expert advice on cryptocurrency, virtual currency, and emerging technology-related illicit finance threats, risks and vulnerabilities to assist in the development of policy responses to these challenges.”

He/she will also perform other assignments such as issuing advisories and guidance to financial institutions regarding digital currencies. The officer will lead FinCEN’s collaboration efforts with other stakeholders to better offer guidance and oversight to the digital currency industry.

The new listing comes on the heels of FinCEN’s proposal for new rules that will require banks and money services to verify identities, keep records and file reports on transactions over US$3,000 involving “non-hosted” digital asset wallets.

Under the proposal, service providers will be required to report the name and address of their customer; the type and amount of convertible virtual currencies (CVCs) and legal tender status digital assets (LTDAs) used in the transaction; time of transaction; assessed value of the transaction in U.S. dollars; name and physical address of each counterparty to the transaction as well as other information “the Secretary may prescribe as mandatory on the reporting form”; any other information that uniquely identifies the transaction, the accounts, and, to the extent reasonably available, the parties involved; and, other forms relating to the transaction that is completed or signed by the customer.

United States Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said, “This rule addresses substantial national security concerns in the CVC market, and aims to close the gaps that malign actors seek to exploit in the recordkeeping and reporting regime.”

The BSV ecosystem is already a step ahead when it comes to being regulation-ready, in line with the mission of being the most regulatory friendly blockchain project. Most BSV wallets are now rolling out the ability to know, and verify, their users’ identities to curb the rising number of scams in the digital currency industry.

See also: CoinGeek Live panel on Regulation of Digital Assets & Digital Asset Businesses