Coinbase users in Canada will soon be required to report the details of recipients who receive large transactions, according to a notice sent to users.

Coinbase is compliant

“Beginning April 4, Coinbase will introduce certain changes required by Canadian regulations,” the notice reads.

The advisory goes on to say that, for transactions over CAD 1,000 (approximately $800), Coinbase is “legally required to request [users] to obtain information about the recipient of this transaction. Details which must be declared include the name and address of the consignee. This rule seems to affect transactions with businesses rather than individuals, as it only applies when the receiving party is a financial entity, money services business, and/or crypto exchange.

A copy of the message sent to customers was obtained by Ryan Sean Adams of Bankless, who shared it on Twitter.

Rules reflect regulatory changes

According to Coinbase, these changes are being made in response to an anti-money laundering law called the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA).

These regulations, which came into effect in June 2021, require money services businesses to keep records of virtual currency transactions of $1,000 or more. Coinbase’s decision to announce the rule this week is likely due to the fact that the Canadian authority FINTRAC will begin assessing compliance in April.

Similar record keeping requirements have long been in effect in the United States under the Bank Secrecy Act. Coinbase’s support pages suggest it follows these rules, although it’s unclear what the reporting threshold is under US regulations.

Canada draws attention

Canada has become a topic of discussion within the crypto community lately. In February, the Canadian government drew attention when it ordered exchanges to block addresses linked to the convoy protesting COVID-19 restrictions.

Incidentally, Binance pulled its services from Ontario entirely this month due to an inability to trade with regulators.

It does not appear that any of these decisions are directly related. The decision to blacklist the crypto addresses was made under the now lifted Emergencies Act. Binance’s issue involved the Ontario Securities Commission and was limited to one province.

Coinbase’s actions, on the other hand, are due to the national reporting law which has been gradually rolled out over the past year.

Disclosure: At the time of writing this article, the author of this article owned BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies.