US Senators Move to Rewrite 50-Year-Old Bank Secrecy Act Reporting
Washington pushes to modernize anti-money laundering rules, raise outdated thresholds, and reshape the nation’s financial and crypto oversight framework
A bipartisan group of US senators, led by Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, has introduced a sweeping proposal to update the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) — America’s cornerstone anti-money laundering law first passed in 1970. The bill, called the STREAMLINE Act, aims to modernize reporting requirements that have not been adjusted in over 50 years despite decades of inflation and a rapidly evolving financial system.
The legislation raises the Currency Transaction Report (CTR) threshold from $10,000 to $30,000 and the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) limits from $2,000–$5,000 to $3,000–$10,000. It also mandates the Treasury Department to review and adjust these thresholds every five years to keep pace with inflation.
Senator Pete Ricketts said the reforms will “cut red tape for banks and credit unions” while ensuring “law enforcement still has the tools they need.” The changes would ease the compliance burden for financial institutions, including crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken, which must also comply with BSA obligations.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are increasing engagement with the crypto industry as the US government shutdown stretches into its fourth week. On Tuesday, fintech and crypto trade groups urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to finalize open banking rules that affirm individuals’ ownership of their financial data — a key step toward connecting traditional finance with DeFi and crypto ecosystems.
On Wednesday, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and other Democrats met with executives from Circle, Ripple, Kraken, Coinbase, and Chainlink to discuss the long-delayed US digital asset market structure bill. According to reports, senators expressed determination to finalize the legislation once Congress reopens.
