Cryptocurrencies registered significant global growth during 2021 and international organizations, as well as countries, carried out various actions to promote the regulatory process for the use of cryptocurrencies. Latin American countries made significant progress.

One of the most important actions carried out during 2021 was the update of the guide of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), reaching agreements that allowed defining some procedures, among which the limitation of “P2P operations denying the license of operation to exchanges that allow transactions to or from self-custody wallets”.

For its part, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also emphatic, on various occasions during 2021, on the need to regulate cryptocurrencies and in its annual report on global financial stability, it indicated that the cryptographic ecosystem is the second topic of greater world interest in financial matters.

While at the World Economic Forum in Davos, cryptocurrencies were the focus of analysis, establishing some recommendations to countries to “control DeFi platforms (decentralized finance).

Venezuela pioneer in Latin America

The first Latin American country to establish legal regulations for cryptocurrencies was Venezuela in the years 2018-2019, additionally it created Sunacrip, a special regulatory body for crypto assets and their related activities. However, in 2021 some actions were carried out to optimize the regulation of cryptocurrencies.

In April, Sunacrip announced an order in which an adaptation to the legal norms was carried out, taking into account the recommendations made by the FATF. In addition, it made an alliance with the national body against organized crime and terrorism, in order to improve actions against money laundering with cryptocurrencies.

Other Latin American attempts

Argentina exhibited two bills related to the cryptographic sector, in which they proposed a legal framework to legalize Bitcoin as a form of payment, but they failed to be finalized in Parliament. Another third project, was presented in July and aims to legalize the payment of salaries with cryptocurrencies, is in the process of review by the respective parliamentary committees.

Brazil, for its part, approved a bill that they had been discussing since 2015, which includes stricter penalties for scams and money laundering crimes with cryptocurrencies. Additionally, 2 other projects are under discussion in the Brazilian Parliament. One is related to the responsibility of establishing controls on the part of the state. While the second aims to legalize bitcoin for the payment of salaries in the country.

The Financial Superintendency of Colombia began a pilot test in July, which will last 12 months, so that the selected financial entities will carry out transactions and use cases in a controlled environment. The experiment is known as a regulatory sandbox. The financial superintendent notified that at the end of the experiment the users of the participating banks could carry out the sale of cryptocurrencies through their bank accounts.

The world’s first Bitcoin law

In June 2021, El Salvador became the center of attention of the world and particularly of the bitcoin community, due to the fact that President Nayib Bukele announced the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in the country, sending a draft law to Congress. that was approved immediately by the parliamentarians.

This event generated various reactions in the global arena and international organizations such as the IMF and IDB spoke out against the measure. Internally in the country, some organizations also expressed their disagreement and some challenges were attempted, but they were unable to advance and prevent the measure. Finally, on September 7, the Bitcoin law came into force, with which the country became the first in the world to adopt a cryptocurrency as legal tender.

M. Rodríguez

With information from specialized cryptocurrency media

La entrada The regulatory process of cryptocurrencies in Latin America apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will initiate the steps for the design and development of a “sovereign digital asset”. This was reported by the RBI governor, Shaktikanta Das, who admitted that they are expected to carry out the first tests of the project by the end of the year.

“I think by the end of the year we should be ready for that, maybe we would be in a position to start our free trials” and added they are extremely careful about it because “it is a completely new product, not just for RBI, but globally.”

The project aims to evaluate the CBDC in all its areas and especially in the processes related to security, as well as the feasibility, applicability and effects on the internal economic environment of the nation.

The representative of the official financial institution stressed that there is an internal debate in the institution related to the type of book that the new currency should have. They are considering to assume a centralized ledger or just to establish it in the “distributed ledger technology (DLT)”, which would allow greater participation in the system, but regardless of the decision made, the RBI will reserve absolute guardianship of the currency.

As you will recall, the government of India has taken a stance against Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, requesting, more than once their ban in the country. However, the government’s new strategy will be to evaluate, in the remainder of the year, the “media impact” of the new currency and its positioning in relation to other digital assets.

During 2021 the investment made in the cryptocurrency market in India increased “200 times more” compared to 2020, standing out as one of the countries with the largest number of crypto investors, located at approximately 15 million.

M. Rodríguez

Source: cripto247.com

La entrada India will work on its new CBDC apareció primero en Bitfinance.

On September 7, bitcoin comes into force as legal tender in El Salvador and from that moment the citizens of that country will have the possibility of carrying out different transactions with BTC, such as sending remittances, exchanging cryptocurrencies for fiat money through the so-called wallet Chivo, created by the State for the use of digital currency.

Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, used his social network Twitter to recall the advantages of handling bitcoin, emphasizing that the use of crypto is optional, that is, “no one is obliged to carry out operations with the cryptocurrency if they do not wish to.”

The president noted: “This will be what will happen on September 7: People will be able to download an application to receive payments or gifts in bitcoin or dollars. If they want they will download it and if they don’t want to, they will not do it. With it they will receive $ 30 equivalent in bitcoin for consumption. If you want, if not, you do not download it… With this application you can accept payments in bitcoin or dollars, open a small business and manage it from there, receive money from family or friends and send and receive remittances without paying a single cent of commission to anyone. If they want, if not, then they don’t download anything and that’s it”.

Preparing the infrastructure

The president also made reference to the work that the state has been developing in the conditioning of all the infrastructure necessary to use bitcoin in the country.

He also highlighted that “physical points and Chivo ATMs are being built so that the inhabitants can exchange their BTC funds for fiat money and vice versa. According to Bukele, the income received in crypto can be kept in the electronic wallet or converted into dollars and withdrawn at any of the 200 Chivo ATMs that will be in various places operating 24 hours a day.

Additionally, the Chivo points will be working, which aim to explain to the inhabitants how the Chivo application and bitcoin trade work. As well as “withdrawing or depositing money, how to use ATMs and how to receive money from anywhere in the world” without having to pay any commission.

M. Rodríguez

Source: diariobitcoin.com

La entrada Bukele officially launches the Chivo wallet for bitcoin apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The third monetary reconversion is imminent, but that strategy will not make citizens prefer the bolivar. This was stated by the economist and former deputy José Guerra, who also indicated the need to create a new currency.

According to the expert, the new currency should be anchored to the dollar, while the economy recovers and subsequently it is necessary to progress to “a floating system on solid fundamentals.”

As a consequence of the damage caused by the economic policies, especially between 2007 and 2020, the former deputy considers that it is impossible to restore the bolivar. He affirmed that, in financially unstable countries, the issuance of local currency must be supported by international reserves so that the public chooses to maintain it and that does not happen in Venezuela.

According to the economist, it is imperative to defeat hyperinflation. This requires the design and application of an extensive program of economic and institutional reforms with external financing, in order to prevent the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) from continuing to increase the fiscal deficit.

“The most expeditious recipe for destroying a currency is for the central bank to use its issuing capacity to finance the treasury, a populism tool known as the inorganic issuance of money and it is the strategy most used by all countries that have suffered from hyperinflation”, Guerra concluded.

M. Rodríguez

With information from national media

La entrada José Guerra: “It is necessary to create another currency in Venezuela” apareció primero en Bitfinance.