Brazil has trailed along with India, UK, and Australia among other nations that has chosen to regulate the crypto sector rather than restricting it like China. The National Congress of Brazil is reportedly expected to give approvals to the crypto bill within the first half of 2022 itself. Once Brazil gets its crypto laws, miners will be provided with tax incentives. Crypto-related platforms will also have to seek official permission to operate in Brazil so that tracking illicit activities via cryptocurrencies are kept in check.
Rodrigo Pacheco, the president of the Senate in Brazil may put the bill for a plenary vote in April, Cointelegraph reported.
Senator Irajá Abreu and Deputy Aureo Ribeiro are the two Brazilian senators who are drafting the bill that, with each passing day, is inching closer to being presented before the full Senate for voting.
“The Central Bank’s technical team has also been very helpful,” the report quoted Irajá as saying.
As per blockchain research firm Triple-A, around 10 million Brazilians held cryptocurrencies in 2021.
The authorities in Brazil are aiming to clampdown on the possibilities of crypto misuse and are hence, looking to bring regulatory laws as soon as possible.
Violators of Brazil’s crypto laws, when enforced, could end up in jail for four to eight years.
Either a new regulatory body will be set up to oversee crypto operations in Brazil, or the responsibility would be handed over either to the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) or the Central Bank of Brazil (BC).
The Latin American country, however, is not considering to adopt any existing cryptocurrency as a legal tender.
Once passed by both the Senate as well as the lower house, Brazil’s crypto bill will be sent to President Jair Bolsonaro to be signed into law.
“Crypto asset trading companies are neither subject to regulation nor to the control of the Central Bank or the Securities and Exchange Commission, which makes it more difficult for the public authorities to identify suspicious transactions,” Agência Senado quoted Senator Abreu as saying about the proposed legislation.