The legislation empowers the Brazilian President to establish or select a regulatory body to monitor the crypto market.
According to Cointelegraph Brazil, the National Congress is anticipated to enact a measure governing the cryptocurrency industry in Brazil in the first half of this year.
The measure, which has been discussed in the Chamber of Deputies since 2015, was passed in its first reading. The Senate has included it in another cryptocurrency-related law that has already been passed by the Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee.
Senator Irajá Abreu and Deputy Aureo Ribeiro, both of whom served as rapporteurs for the aforementioned ideas in their respective legislative chambers, are now developing a single text of the measure that will be submitted to the whole Senate for consideration.
“I’m coordinating everything with the Chamber’s rapporteur, who did an excellent job. Additionally, the Central Bank’s technical personnel has been quite helpful. The texts are comparable and have been merged,” Senator Irajá said.
Irajá further said that Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco is anticipated to bring the united measure to a plenary vote in April. As he stated:
“By combining the projects, we sped up the process of approving this cryptocurrency milestone. There is a market desire for a more secure corporate environment, as well as a requirement for criminal categorization to prevent fraud, in addition to Brazil adhering to international accords.” The plenary adoption of the bill will not make Bitcoin legal money in Brazil, as it is in El Salvador.
The proposed bill would empower the Brazilian President to create a government organisation charged with implementing cryptocurrency regulations. The president would either establish a new regulator or transfer this role to the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) or to the Brazilian Central Bank (BC).
The regulator will be responsible for creating market rules and enforcing international standards in order to avoid money laundering and asset concealment.
Additionally, the law recommends a four- to eight-year jail sentence and a fine for individuals who commit fraud in the supply of virtual asset services.
Another point made in the law is a series of incentives for cryptocurrency miners to establish operations in Brazil. It proposes to tax the importation of ASICs into the country. This, however, may not be enough to entice Bitcoin miners to the country, given that Brazil’s energy prices are among the highest in South America, around five times those in Paraguay and Venezuela.
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