# United States

> United States (Treasury · FinCEN · OFAC · SEC · CFTC · IRS · state regulators): Split by perimeter, not by ideology. Region: Americas. Privacy with disclosure: Confidentiality is workable so long as the regulated firm can identify parties and disclose on demand.

Part of the Soda Labs Privacy Hub regulation map, which reads the instruments
themselves rather than summarising the summaries: https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation

## Key facts

- Entry type: Jurisdiction
- Region: Americas
- Subject: Split by perimeter, not by ideology
- Authority: Treasury · FinCEN · OFAC · SEC · CFTC · IRS · state regulators
- Stance on on-chain confidentiality: Privacy with disclosure. Confidentiality is workable so long as the regulated firm can identify parties and disclose on demand.
- Tags: perimeter split, self-custody, EO 14178, legislation pending
- Canonical page: https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/jur-united-states

## What it actually says

The US moved in both directions at once between 2024 and 2026, and the dividing line is custody rather than politics. Where an intermediary holds customer assets, identity obligations expanded: broker reporting went live on schedule, the travel rule is unchanged, and stablecoin issuers must now be able to freeze and seize. Where software is non-custodial, the direction reversed: the unhosted wallet proposal was withdrawn, the DeFi broker rule was repealed by Congress and cannot be reissued without new legislation, and a derivatives regulator declined to treat self-custodial wallet software as an intermediary. Executive Order 14178 states protection of self-custody and uncensored transacting as policy. Almost none of this is settled law: the market structure bill has still not passed.

## The instruments that matter

- **Tightening at the custodial perimeter**: 1099-DA broker reporting live with basis from 2026, the Bank Secrecy Act travel rule, GENIUS Act freeze-and-seize capability, NYDFS blockchain analytics, California DFAL five-year identity records
- **Loosening around non-custodial software**: the 2020 unhosted wallet rule withdrawn in 2024, the DeFi broker rule repealed in 2025 and barred from reintroduction, the travel rule threshold cut withdrawn, and a CFTC no-action position for self-custodial wallet software in March 2026
- **Executive Order 14178, 23 January 2025**: makes it policy to protect lawful use of public blockchains, including developing software, transacting without unlawful censorship, and maintaining self-custody
- **Almost nothing legislative has passed**: the CLARITY Act reached a Senate cloture motion in August 2026 without a vote; the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act and the anti-CBDC bills remain pending

## Sources

- [Executive Order 14178](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-01-31/pdf/2025-02123.pdf)
- [IRS digital assets](https://www.irs.gov/filing/digital-assets)

## Related entries

- [OFAC and Van Loon](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/reg-ofac): Sanctions · where the law found a limit
- [FinCEN](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/reg-fincen): Bank Secrecy Act · the deepest US constraint
- [GENIUS Act](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/reg-genius-act): Stablecoins · censorability as a licensing precondition
- [IRS broker reporting](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/reg-irs-broker-reporting): Tax · live at the custodial perimeter, dead beyond it
- [NYDFS](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/reg-nydfs): The most privacy-restrictive US regulator, state or federal
- [The third-party doctrine](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/reg-third-party-doctrine): Why chain analysis needs no warrant