A bill governing the cryptocurrency business was approved by the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday. The measure, which was passed by the Senate in April but was stalled in the Chamber of Deputies, now needs the assent of President Lula to become law.
Deputy Aureo Ribeiro’s bill creates a new offense of fraud involving virtual assets, punishable by two to six years in prison and a fine. Additionally, it mandates the “virtual service provider” license, which businesses, including exchanges and other cryptocurrency organizations, must apply for. The legislation has given businesses 180 days to adjust to the new regulations before the bill takes effect.
The text states that digital assets not falling into that category will be regulated by a different organization (likely the central bank) that will be chosen by the President’s office, while securities-like crypto assets will be governed by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM).
As countries in Latin America race towards crypto sector dominance, Brazil has been advancing itself as well. As per many the race started when El Salvador declared Bitcoin as a legal tender. Brazil has plans for a central bank issues digital currency (CBDC), or digital real, which will reportedly include a number of features that other central banks aren’t typically taking into account.
Brazil seeks to popularize the idea of “open finance,” which combines the digital real with decentralized financial institutions and traditional ones.
On an occasion, the president of the country’s central bank mentioned a “super app” that will let users store both stablecoins and the CBDC was also on display at the event, showcasing the system’s integration with the already-running PIX payments network. The aim is to give users a thorough summary of all of their funds, whether they are traditional or crypto-based, in one location by the application.
There is no anticipated completion date even though the digital real concept has been in development for a long time because the central bank and other institutions are still testing the many implementations and characteristics this new coin would have.