Why was my stablecoin payment held?
From The Travel Rule for stablecoin payments: what businesses need to know, by Pavel Skalin. Updated .
The wider picture
The key points from the guide this answer comes from:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Does the Travel Rule apply to my company?
- What information travels with a transfer?
- What happens if I receive USDT from a self-hosted wallet?
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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