Biden to Freeze All ‘Midnight’ Rulemaking: What Does This Mean for the New FinCEN Rules?

The US president elect Joe Biden will allegedly issue a freeze of all ‘midnight’ regulations set in the final days of Trump’s presidency. According to the transition spokesperson Jen Psaki, Biden will issue a memo on the inauguration day halting or putting on hold all of the rulemaking falling under this category.

The Vigilant President-Elect

From the statement put forth by Psaki, Biden wishes to get rid of any detrimental policies that Trump may have instigated. As such, it is a matter of the sooner the better for the new administration. The to-be-issued memo will take effect on January 20 in a vigil to get the country’s crisis in order. In turn, the incoming White House authority will set straight any shaky grounds between the power change.

It comes at a time where the Department of Labor proposed to give companies power to state their employees as independent parties rather than full-time contractors. This action would mean that companies have the upper hand to deprive their employees of their hard-earned benefits. 

Psaki went on to mention that their move would not work for regulation but also guidelines that coils hurt the future of Americans. Furthermore, Biden’s administration hopes to put its best foot forward in maintaining the best interest in regards to climate change. Therefore, Biden aims to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord that was previously retracted by President Trump.

FinCEN New Guidelines in Trouble?

Recently, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a proposal for all American citizens to report if they have more than $10,000 in offshore accounts. The proposed rule is to stretch over to virtual currency holders. Moreover, it wishes to make changes to the Bank Secrecy Act and Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) policies. 

Crypto users have a lot to lose in the wake of this amendment. All digital asset holdings will be subject to the FBAR, while exchanges would have to store and provide customer information to FinCEN. 

Additionally, the IRS requires all who file the FBAR to provide all personal info, including the account name, number, foreign bank address, account type, and the maximum amount held per year.

If at all the Biden administration goes through with the plans set in place, FinCEN rules will fall under the guidelines to be halted. FinCEN would lose the progress it has made so far as the proposed amendments are concerned. However, this might be in favor of all the involved parties bound to suffer under the regulations.

An Inconsiderate FinCEN?

The announcement is in a controversial space with many entities within the crypto sector criticizing the decision; that includes Jack Dorsey, the Twitter and Square CEO, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Kraken exchange, and more.

In their view, FinCEN’s proposed rules will limit crypto adoption by breaching the essence of virtual currencies. It will put at stake the decentralized nature of cryptos, the privacy users hope to attain, and the general freedom traders hope to achieve in their trade. Safe to say, a massive group of crypto enthusiasts has their fingers crossed in the hope of a change in the near future.