INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
concerns over new forms of digital assets continue to grow, especially post the infamous 2022 dip.One country that has recently gone ahead
This June, Brazil passed a law to regulate cryptocurrency with the help of its central bank.Image source Pexels.This is a big step forward
for the country, as Brazil has had a booming cryptocurrency industry in the last few years.Currently, it ranks as the country with the
initial cryptocurrency surge happened between 2016 and 2017 when their Bitcoin transactions grew from US$160 million (R$765 million) to
US$2.4 billion (R$11 billion) in a single year.Fast-forward to 2021, when the Brazilian real depreciated, but locals continued to trade
billions in Bitcoin and stablecoin.In 2022 an estimated US$2 billion (R$9.4 billion) was traded despite crypto fluctuations.Regarding
investment portfolios, cryptocurrency is also more common among Brazillian investors, as they place more importance on it than U.S
stocks.The high demand ushered in a wave of brokerage platforms for cryptocurrency that initially operated without regulation.This
along with world-class flexibility and transparency.Additional features such as VPS hosting and instant withdrawals have also been a huge
plus, as a big portion of Brazillian users are day traders that hinge on quick movements.On top of this, with over 214 million
crypto-traders in the country, Brazil has always ranked high when it comes to smartphone usage.The majority of traders use handheld devices
and, thus, were more than happy to adopt trading platforms optimized for mobile use.In line with these positive developments that continue
trading in 2022 by offering ten digital assets to traders.This made it very apparent that cryptocurrency was here to stay
Soon after, a bill to regulate the industry was proposed, and recently, it was signed into law.What the new Cryptoassets Act meansFirst and
foremost, the bill provides a legal definition to cover crypto assets
The law states that these virtual assets digitally represent a value that could be electronically traded or used for investing
This applies to a wide range of digital currencies and assets.The act also officially grants the Central Bank of Brazil the power to
regulate and supervise all trading activity.Notably, it will be able to determine which companies can legally operate in the market.This
will be managed through a licensing system that requires all cryptocurrency platforms to register.It will also allow authorization for
several foreign crypto payment providers
This is in response to the forecasted continued growth of the cryptocurrency industry.Additionally, the decree sets new regulations in place
to further protect digital currencies against money laundering schemes.Before this, the country only extended its existing Anti-Money
Laundering Law to virtual assets under certain contexts.Now, any violator caught can be imprisoned between three to ten years.This decree
officially took effect on June 20, 2023
will allow providers to widen their digital banking services for cryptocurrency.In the hopes of ushering in more innovation, plans to
release a debit card feature for converting crypto into a fiat currency are also in motion.All of these signify progress for Brazil as it
moves into a new frontier for its financial industry
This also marks a milestone globally, as more countries are expected to follow suit.It is a step in the right direction for the growth of
