To achieve healthy commercial activities, the regulations establish the obligation to apply for registration. As for mining, legislation got passed on energy use and possible incentives for the industry.
The Senate of Paraguay approved this Thursday, a bill presented by three senators intending to regulate activities related to cryptocurrencies in the country. Specifically, the production and marketing activities of digital assets get highlighted in the text of the regulations.
The initiative, approved by the plenary session with some modifications compared to its original version, was presented by Senator Fernando Silva Facetti (of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party) in parallel collaboration with Antonio April (Hagamos) and Juan Bartolomé Ramírez (also of the PLRA). The voting ended with twenty-nine votes in favor, eight against, six abstentions, and two absences.
The purpose is to grant legal, financial, and fiscal security for businesses linked with crypto assets. As a result of this new law, which must still be approved in the Chamber of Deputies and then regulated by the Executive Power, companies that trade cryptocurrencies in the country must get included in the Registry of virtual asset providers.
Regarding this activity, they highlighted that crypto assets are just products for free sale by those natural and legal persons who desire to market them under this law.
Concerning cryptocurrency mining, the original project defines and includes it as an “innovative digital industry” plausible to receive the incentives granted by the national government for such purposes. Likewise, possible sanctions would get established for those who carry out this activity without being duly registered with the regulatory bodies.
In this case, the responsible one is the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Other control entities would be the National Electricity Administration and the National Secretariat for Laundering of Goods and Assets prevention.
Despite the bill in the Senate, Paraguayan media emphasized that the regulators have not yet given the green light to boost the initiative.
Paraguay and its Fertile Context for Cryptocurrencies
Paraguay’s cheap and abundant sources of energy make cryptocurrency mining a profitable activity in the nation. For this reason, many foreign companies migrate to the country to evaluate their possibilities there, as many attendees of the Crypto Summit del Sur 2021, held on December 7 in Ciudad del Este.
However, this status has also put the magnifying glass on the Paraguayan State and its stance on cryptocurrencies, their profitability, and their possible undeclared commercial use. In the legislative framework, the first to speak was Deputy Carlos Rejala. The revelation happened in June 2021, in euphoria over El Salvador’s announcement of adopting bitcoin as legal currency in its territory.
However, Rejala’s project got highly criticized; the critics even said it was a copy of projects from other countries and did not contribute anything to this industry in Paraguay. Finally, almost with the Christmas toast approaching, the Senate discussed another regulation that might have the potential to keep on its way in 2022 and become the first law on cryptocurrencies to rule in that country.
By: Jenson Nuñez
