Argentine authorities are asking cryptocurrency companies to report users who move high amounts of money. Entrepreneurs in that sector consider there is a witch hunt and ask not to regulate against technologies.
The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) and the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP) collect information on people who operate with cryptocurrencies. In addition, they seek to monitor the activities of exchanges and have even ordered the closure of their bank accounts.
Data requests and notifications from both agencies to exchanges and other cryptocurrency companies date back several months.
Although some firms claimed not to have problems with regulatory agencies, at least five companies in the sector had their bank accounts closed. That could be due to a directive from the BCRA to banks to discourage the proliferation of those companies. The financial regulator says it is only after those not complying with the legal requirements the country’s authorities request.
In Argentina, there are almost two million user accounts on cryptocurrency platforms. Although there are 50 of those companies, the Argentine Chamber of FinTech has only registered 25.
To reduce that unregulated growth, the Central Bank has requested information during this year. In addition, financial entities have closed the accounts of many exchanges by directive of that parent entity. A representative of that sector sees the measure as a witch hunt, of which banks are the primary target.
The BCRA and the AFIP Are Also After Cryptocurrency Savers
Besides the controls on Argentine exchanges, the Federal Administration of Public Revenues also has cryptocurrency owners in its sights. The director of the BCRA, Miguel Pesce, stated that the mission of the Central Bank is to monitor crypto assets to avoid the country’s exchange laws.
Pesce previously claimed that they were studying the interoperability between banks and exchanges. However, the BCRA does not want cryptocurrency companies to enter that sector.
For that reason, the Argentine government asked cryptocurrency firms for information about users who move large amounts of money. That violates people’s privacy, one of the fundamental principles of the ecosystem.
As these companies have to provide information for the AFIP and the BCRA, they do not have many choices. Any document they present will have the nature of a sworn statement, which implies that they have everything to lose.
The Position of Exchanges Owners on Those Measures
The CEO of an Argentine exchange expressed that he sees a market that tends to be more strict and tight in preventing money laundering. However, he argued that he does not clearly understand the position of the banks or how they handle some policies of the BCRA.
That same person believes that they should not regulate against new technologies but rather promote them as they are beneficial to society. He expressed that he hopes that the BCRA will contribute to having an egalitarian market without banking pressure.
A new crypto bill could enter the National Congress before the end of the year. Previous initiatives did not come to fruition but could serve as the basis for regulation in this area.
By Alexander Salazar
