Anti-money laundering innovation

12 U.S.C. § 5908

• Title: 12 — Banks and Banking
• Chapter: 56 — REGULATION OF PAYMENT STABLECOINS

Text

(a) Public comment
Beginning on the date that is 30 days after July 18, 2025, and for a period of 60 days thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall seek public comment to identify innovative or novel methods, techniques, or strategies that regulated financial institutions use, or have the potential to use, to detect illicit activity, such as money laundering, involving digital assets, including comments with respect to—
(1) application program interfaces;
(2) artificial intelligence;
(3) digital identify verification; and
(4) use of blockchain technology and monitoring.
(b) Treasury research
Upon completion of the public comment period described in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall conduct research on the innovative or novel methods, techniques, or strategies that regulated financial institutions use, or have the potential to use, to detect illicit activity, such as money laundering, involving digital assets that were identified in such public comment period.
With respect to each innovative or novel method, technique, or strategy described in paragraph (1), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network shall evaluate and consider the following factors against existing methods, techniques, or strategies:
(A) Improvements in the ability of financial institutions to detect illicit activity involving digital assets.
(B) Costs to regulated financial institutions.
(C) The amount and sensitivity of information that is collected or reviewed.
(D) Privacy risks associated with the information that is collected or reviewed.
(E) Operational challenges and efficiency considerations.
(F) Cybersecurity risks.
(G) Effectiveness of methods, techniques, or strategies at mitigating illicit finance.
(c) Treasury risk assessment
As part of the national strategy for combating terrorist and other illicit financing required under sections 261 and 262 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (Public Law 115–44; 131 Stat. 934), the Secretary of the Treasury shall consider—
(1) the source of illicit activity, such as money laundering and sanctions evasion involving digital assets;
(2) the effectiveness of and gaps in existing methods, techniques, and strategies used by regulated financial institutions in detecting illicit activity, such as money laundering, involving digital assets;
(3) the impact of existing regulatory frameworks on the use and development of innovative methods, techniques, or strategies by regulated financial institutions; and
(4) any foreign jurisdictions that pose a high risk of facilitating illicit activity through the use of digital assets to obtain fiat currency.
(d) FinCEN guidance or rulemaking
Not later than 3 years after July 18, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network shall issue public guidance and notice and comment rulemaking, based on the results of the research and risk assessments required under this section, relating to the following:
(1) The implementation of innovative or novel methods, techniques, or strategies by regulated financial institutions to detect illicit activity involving digital assets.
(2) Standards for payment stablecoin issuers to identify and report illicit activity involving the payment stablecoin of a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, including, fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, financing of terrorism, sanctions evasion, or insider trading.
(3) Standards for payment stablecoin issuers' systems and practices to monitor transactions on blockchains, digital asset mixing services, tumblers, or other similar services that mix payment stablecoins in such a way as to make such transaction or the identity of the transaction parties less identifiable.
(4) Tailored risk management standards for financial institutions interacting with decentralized finance protocols.
(e) Recommendations and report to Congress
Not later than 180 days after July 18, 2025, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the chairs and ranking members of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a report on—
(A) legislative and regulatory proposals to allow regulated financial institutions to develop and implement novel and innovative methods, techniques, or strategies to detect illicit activity, such as money laundering and sanctions evasion, involving digital assets;
(B) the results of the research and risk assessments conducted pursuant to this section;
(C) efforts to support the ability of financial institutions to implement novel and innovative methods, techniques, or strategies to detect illicit activity, such as money laundering and sanctions evasion, involving digital assets;
(D) the extent to which transactions on distributed ledgers, digital asset mixing services, tumblers, or other similar services that mix payment stablecoins in such a way as to make such transaction or the identity of the transaction parties less identifiable may facilitate illicit activity; and
(E) legislative recommendations relating to the scope of the term "digital asset service provider" and the application of that term to decentralized finance.
A report under this section may include a classified annex, if applicable.
(f) Rule of construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the existing authority of the Secretary of the Treasury or the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators to, prior to the submission of a report required under this section, use existing exemptive authorities, the no-action letter process, or rulemaking authorities in a manner that encourages regulated financial institutions to adopt novel or innovative methods, techniques, or strategies to detect illicit activity, such as money laundering, involving digital assets.

History

(Pub. L. 119–27, §9, July 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 453.)

Editorial Notes

Delayed Effective Date of Section
For delayed effective date of section, see Effective Date note below.

Editorial Notes

References in Text
Sections 261 and 262 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, referred in subsec. (c), are sections 261 and 262 of Pub. L. 115–44, title II, Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 934, which are not classified to the Code.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date
Section effective on the earlier of the date that is 18 months after July 18, 2025, or the date that is 120 days after the date on which the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators issue any final regulations implementing Pub. L. 119–27, see section 20 of Pub. L. 119–27, set out as a note under section 5901 of this title.