Regarding whether DeFi platforms serve as financial intermediaries, Beaudroit recommends taking care of the consumer rather than regulating the activity. According to Cobos, companies should ensure that they protect users, taking some measures even if the regulators do not require it.
Cryptocurrencies, the regulations on them and the challenges they represent for companies in this sector are matters of debate.
The CEO of financial company Belo, Manuel Beaudroit, said there are no clear regulations on cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Argentina. He noted that this situation led banks to become the de facto regulators of decentralized finance (DeFi) in that country.
He referred to the latter as financial products similar to traditional services but created on a blockchain.
According to Beaudroit, Argentine regulations change at the same time as the governments of the country do. He explained that they had had governments that support innovation while others have tried to control everything much more.
Nobody Wants to Take Responsibility for Regulating DeFi in Argentina
The executive considers that no one in Argentina wants to take responsibility for regulating activities with cryptocurrencies. The main reason for this is that there are political, legal and bureaucratic implications.
Beaudroit commented that each bank decides how far it risks with these types of assets. He highlighted that Argentina has innovative banks that have always sought to support exchanges.
Smaller banks have shown a greater willingness to take risks in this regard, the CEO said. Besides, he emphasized that these institutions have advanced in opening accounts and lending support to DeFi platforms.
He also spoke about the impact of DeFi on the way to manage some financial products, which permeates the public.
Likewise, he reported there arose an alert on whether or not DeFi platforms function as financial intermediaries. Beaudroit believes that it is necessary to take care of the consumer rather than regulate this activity, as the latter poses obstacles for the industry.
In this sense, the Central Bank of Argentina recently issued an alert on the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Relationship Existing Between Companies in the Cryptocurrency Sector
Abraham Cobos, crypto strategy manager at the Mexican platform Bitso, also spoke about user protection and the relationship between companies in the sector.
Cobos said that the way a company relates to regulators and the industry is an important aspect.
According to the executive, Bitso was the first to obtain a license to operate under the FinTech Law in Mexico. That is a sign of how companies try to be proactive to protect users.
Many issues related to cryptocurrencies can be tricky, Cobos said. For this reason, he believes that companies and specialists must ensure the protection of users.
The Bitso representative considers that the relationship between companies in the cryptocurrency sector is relevant. He stressed that they need to do some things even if the regulators do not require it. He explained that they take those measures to protect users.
By Alexander Salazar
