FinCEN has withdrawn two crypto-related measures: its 2020 proposal to require reporting on unhosted wallets, and a 2023 finding that crypto mixing is a primary money laundering concern. The bureau said it will keep monitoring mixers and could take action again later. Both decisions landed without a public explanation of the timing.
What FinCEN actually pulled back
The 2020 proposal would have forced banks and crypto firms to collect and report information on customers sending or receiving funds from unhosted wallets — the kind not held at a regulated exchange. It drew thousands of comments at the time and never became a final rule. The 2023 finding was a separate designation that gave FinCEN authority to impose special due-diligence requirements on mixers. Withdrawing it removes that specific hook, at least for now.
Mixers aren't off the table
The bureau was explicit that it hasn't closed the door. It said it will continue monitoring crypto mixers and may take action again in the future. That language matters: it means the legal authority to revisit the issue hasn't been surrendered, only the current finding. For anyone running or using mixing services, the near-term compliance picture is less defined than it was last week, but not settled.
Why this is a real shift
These weren't minor procedural moves. The unhosted wallet rule was one of the most contested crypto proposals of the last few years, and the mixing finding was a direct shot at privacy tools. Pulling both at once signals a change in how FinCEN is prioritizing its crypto enforcement work — though the agency gave no roadmap for what replaces them.
The withdrawal doesn't bind FinCEN from issuing narrower rules later, and the bureau's own statement leaves that possibility open. For now, the practical effect is that the two measures are gone from the books, and the industry is left guessing what comes next from a regulator that just showed it can reverse course.
