By April 30th at the latest, banks and Fintech companies must send the information to the Central Bank. The banking authority of the South American country could establish new regulations on the use of cryptocurrencies.
The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) set April 30th as a deadline for banks and FinTech companies. The latter must inform the banking authority about the transactions with cryptocurrencies that their customers have made during the last year.
According to the local newspaper Clarín, these companies must report data on their customers’ transactions with these types of assets. The BCRA wants to know about those who “administer, manage, control and process asset movements using crypto assets.”
The central bank may be seeking to collect information on companies that are customers of the banks rather than on private users.
At first, the deadline was April 7th, but a lawyer filed a writ of habeas data against the BCRA. The action was intended to stop the collection of data on users’ transactions with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
The aforementioned newspaper reported a source who considers that the event will only represent “greater bureaucracy.” However, that person said that it will not impede the development of the industry. He explained that all activities of Bitcoin exchanges and other cryptocurrency companies are banked. Likewise, he noted that they issue the corresponding invoices so that the transactions are transparent.
Other anonymous sources gave statements to the local press about the use of stablecoins. They said that these crypto-assets “allow many to satisfy their interest in dollarizing their savings without affecting [national] reserves.” Therefore, cryptocurrencies could become “a positive externality” for the BCRA.
There Will Be Tighter Regulations on Bitcoin Worldwide
The reason for measures such as the aforementioned seems to be to study whether it is necessary to incorporate a new regulation on crypto assets. “It is common to request banks for information on different topics of interest before moving forward with regulations,” said another insider.
Argentina already has regulations related to the cryptocurrency ecosystem and some people fear that excessive regulation will “drown” the industry.
As a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Argentina does not escape the recommendations of this organization. One of the latest reports from this entity suggests what it considers to be convenient for governments. They believe that it is best to prohibit the withdrawal of cryptocurrencies from exchanges and brokers to private self-custodial wallets.
Several players in the cryptocurrency industry strongly criticized this type of recommendation worldwide. Among them is Brian Armstrong, CEO of the Coinbase exchange, who believes that “regulating self-custodial wallets puts the innovation at risk.” In any case, many believe that stricter regulations on Bitcoin will be inevitable even though they are a cause of concern.
Argentine regulators are not the only ones who do not like cryptocurrencies that protect the privacy of their users. The governments of the United States and South Korea consider that these types of assets favor money laundering. For that reason, they are constantly working on new regulations to control/prohibit their use within their economic systems.
By Alexander Salazar
