Brazil's Crypto Regulation Bill Goes to Senate Vote for First Time

The Brazilian Senate is set to vote on a bill that would make Brazil the largest cryptocurrency regulator in Latin America.

Brazil’s Senate Economic Affairs Committee unanimously approved the encryption bill on Feb. 22, which may increase the chances of the bill’s passage in the Senate. Once passed by the Senate and Lower House, the bill will go to President Jair Bolsonaro to be signed into law.

The legislation says it provides "guidelines for the terms of service of virtual assets." Brazilian Senator Irajá Abreu said on Feb. 22 that he hopes the bill will curb all kinds of financial crimes committed using cryptocurrencies.

"The purpose of the program is to deter or limit illegal activities such as money laundering, tax evasion and many other crimes. Most markets are legal, but there are exceptions."

Sen. Abreu, who originally introduced the bill in 2019, also told Bloomberg on Feb. 22:

"Once this regulation is approved, the trend is that (cryptocurrency) will be increasingly used in supermarkets, businesses and car dealerships."

The bill, which has been nearly three years in the making, defines what constitutes a virtual asset (VA), broker or exchange, and which branches of the federal government will have jurisdiction over the matter.

Brazilian Crypto Bill to Be Voted by Senate

The bill defines virtual assets as "digital representations of value that can be traded or transferred electronically and used for payment or investment purposes."

According to the bill, a cryptocurrency broker or exchange is a legal entity that is allowed to "participate in financial services and regulations" and conduct exchanges of VA with fiat currency, between VA and other VA, transfer of VA, and custody of VA.

If the bill is passed, Brazil will become the largest cryptocurrency regulation country in Latin America. Probably the most famous Latin American country to have such regulations is El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele has been vocal about his desire to wean the country off the U.S. dollar through the use of Bitcoin.

Embracing cryptocurrencies may have unexpected benefits. In El Salvador, tourism has grown by 30% since bitcoin became legal tender last September.

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