Treasury Seeks Industry Ideas to Spot Crypto Crimes Under New GENIUS Law

The U.S. Treasury Department has opened a request for public comment on methods to detect illicit finance involving digital assets, the first regulatory action mandated by the newly enacted GENIUS Act. Posted on 18 August, the notice seeks industry feedback on the effectiveness, costs and privacy implications of tools such as application-programming interfaces, artificial intelligence, digital-identity verification and blockchain-monitoring software. Submissions are due by 30 September and will inform a Treasury report to Congress and potential rule-making. The initiative comes amid a broader federal push to tighten oversight of cryptocurrencies and other digital instruments. Senate Banking Committee Chair has urged colleagues to advance additional legislation, while Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman and fellow Governor Christopher Waller have emphasized the need for collaboration between regulators and the private sector to balance innovation with risk controls in payments and banking. Further scrutiny is expected next month: the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency plans a public discussion on digital assets in Washington on 10 September. Taken together, the moves signal that U.S. financial authorities are coordinating efforts to address money-laundering and sanctions-evasion risks without stifling technological progress in the fast-growing digital-asset market.