Anchorage Requests Treasury Clarification on GENIUS Act AML Rules

Anchorage Digital submitted a public comment supporting the Treasury Department’s proposed Anti-Money Laundering and sanctions framework for the GENIUS Act, saying the rules largely balance compliance and innovation. The letter urges Treasury to clarify secondary-market sanctions liability, enterprise-wide AML programs and correspondent account requirements.

Anchorage argued issuers should not face strict liability for failing to independently identify sanctioned users who transact on secondary markets through their smart contracts. "A final rule that is clear and workable gives regulated institutions the certainty they need to build, and strengthens U.S.

leadership in the next generation of payments and settlement infrastructure," Anchorage wrote. The rules proposed in April would classify payment stablecoin issuers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act, subjecting them to AML, customer due diligence and suspicious activity reporting requirements.

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