Does the Travel Rule apply to my company?

Usually not directly. It applies to virtual asset service providers, such as exchanges, custodians and payment firms, when they send or receive transfers. Your company feels it through those providers: they ask for the counterparty's details and may hold a transfer until they have them. If your company itself provides crypto services to others, ask a compliance adviser.

The wider picture

The key points from the guide this answer comes from:

  1. The Travel Rule makes exchanges and other crypto providers send the sender's and recipient's details along with a transfer, as banks do with wires. It applies to providers, not to your company's own wallet.
  2. Thresholds differ: the FATF standard allows a 1,000 USD or EUR threshold, the EU has none since 30 December 2024, and the US rule starts at $3,000.
  3. In the EU, a transfer of more than 1,000 euros to or from a self-hosted wallet makes your provider assess whether you own or control it. In the UK, a provider can hold a transfer from an unhosted wallet until it has the sender's details.
  4. Missing details are the usual cause of a stablecoin payment being held or returned. Give payers your company's legal name and the exact provider and network, and expect questions about self-hosted wallets.

More questions on this

The full guide

The Travel Rule makes exchanges and other crypto providers send the sender's and recipient's details with a transfer, as banks do with wires. For your company, it means giving legal names up front and expecting questions about self-hosted wallets, so payments aren't held.

Read The Travel Rule for stablecoin payments: what businesses need to know, with its sources.

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and providers' terms change; check the sources in the guide and take advice on your own situation.

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