The proposal got first presented to Congress in 2015. The approved text included the designation of the Central Bank as the supervisor of cryptocurrencies.
After almost six years on the way, the bill to regulate bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Brazil got finally approved by the Chamber of Deputies of that country. The legal text met a discussion this Wednesday, December 8 at night, as reported by local media.
The approval in the Chamber of Deputies is the first stage of the path that the proposal must endure. Now it must get discussed and approved by the senators of the Brazilian Congress before reaching the Presidency of the Republic to become a legal policy.
The proposal is an ongoing activity, and it also includes the legal definition that virtual assets would have a name that would encompass bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Brazil. In the legal framework, virtual assets refer to a digital representation of value that can serve as a way to set up payment or investment in the South American country.
According to the local media outlet Exame, the definition intends to set up differences between cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, such as points or miles from frequent flyer programs, and even the Brazilian CBDC or the digital Real. Last May, the Central Bank of Brazil made public the guidelines that will now rule the development of its own central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The proposal that got approved by the lower house of the Brazilian Congress came to light for the first time in 2015 at the hands of the deputy Aureo Ribeiro. Since then, this proposal faced various changes and administrative delays due to the culmination of the parliamentary term. The election of the new parliament and the quarantine due to COVID-19 also impacted this proposal.
The Project got Approved with Many Reforms
Many modifications added to the text got proposed by Deputy Expedito Netto, the project rapporteur. Among said modifications is the increase in criminal penalties for crimes such as cryptocurrency fraud or even money laundering, an activity that would receive penalties between 3 and 10 years in prison.
On the other hand, it considers appointing a supervisory body for Bitcoin by the Executive. Deputy Netto highlighted to a local media that the Central Bank of Brazil would be leading the supervision of cryptocurrencies.
There are two other projects awaiting discussion and approval of the Brazilian parliament. In August this year, Senator Soraya Thronicke revealed a bill to delimit the competence of government entities in the supervision of transactions with cryptocurrencies, depending on the context in which they would serve.
Another bill came at the beginning of November in the hands of the deputy Luizão Goulart. In this case, the proposal intends to legalize wages payments with Bitcoin. The author of the text explained that the system would be an optional feature for all workers, both in the public and private sectors in Brazil.
By: Jenson Nuñez
