The project ensures the safety of cryptocurrency users. One of the objectives of this initiative is to combat tax evasion.
Liliana Schwindt, deputy of the “Frente de Todos” (Front of All) party, recently introduced in the National Congress a bill that seeks to regulate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This occurred after it became public knowledge that the “Juntos por el Cambio” (Together for a Change) party will introduce a bill with similar objectives in the legislative palace.
Like the opposition party’s bill, Schwindt’s initiative seeks to “create a comprehensive regulatory framework applicable to civil and commercial transactions and operations of crypto assets as a means of payment, savings or investment”.
Besides, this new bill refers to the establishment of “provisions for the protection, surveillance, inspection, and control of said operations.”
If the law receives approval, as one of its articles establishes, the National Securities Commission (CNV) will prepare and maintain a national register of cryptocurrency operations. The Financial Information Unit (UIF) must receive information from exchanges about the operations that users conduct on them.
Platform operators that provide services with crypto assets must register with the “application authority”. Companies already registered cannot conduct any transaction that violates the requirements of the law. If they do, they will receive a sanction consisting of “the cancellation of the commercial registration, the suspension or revocation of the corresponding authorization to act, or penalties of fines.”
Two articles of the bill referring to the tokenization of goods seek to establish the possibility of executing collective financing contracts. Also, they clarify that the tokens can grant their holders rights to participate in the profits that the investment project has. The UIF will analyze the white papers of these tokens and will decide whether or not to approve their launch.
The bill also promotes the creation of a training program for public officials on the treatment of crypto assets. This program, which the CNV runs, will be mandatory for all officials in charge of crypto-related matters.
The Deputy Considers It Necessary to Legislate Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies
Deputy Schwindt alleges that “the current international scene shows a dizzying growth rate of crypto asset markets.” She considers that “the need arises to legislate aspects related to the safety of the actors involved in the processes.”
The also graduate in social work refers to the “supposed anonymity that crypto assets offer” in a natural way. She declares that it is necessary “to be able to determine the origin and destination of the funds with which this global crypto asset market will operate.”
On the other hand, it supports the possibility that there will be cases of tax evasion “when it is impossible to detect the registration of operations.” Also, there could be “tax avoidance if the parties agreed on a ficto value of the transactions.”
There Is No Head or Tail
The CEO at Signatura and former president of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina, Gonzalo Blousson, described the bill as ridiculous and said that there is “no head or tail” to it. He regretted that they had not consulted representatives of the local community, such as attorneys Daniel Rybnik and Ricardo Mihura Estrada. They are specialists in jurisprudence applied to the field of cryptocurrencies.
Schwindt said that she is willing to listen to local ecosystem players and expects them to participate. She said that “it is time to start discussing issues that emerge and expand rapidly and on which there is no legislation.”
By Alexander Salazar
