This article is from cointelegraph.com.br and the original article can be read here in Portuguese
Cryptocurrencies start a week that could become a watershed for this market in Brazil, since the plenary of the Federal Senate scheduled for this Tuesday’s session (19) the vote on the Bill (PL) 3825/209, authored by Senator Flávio Arns (Podemos-PR), which provides for the regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges in Brazil. In practice this gives the central bank the authority to regulate the sector, which must also be subject to inspection by the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), if the proposal is approved in its current form and enters into force.
Check out the main changes directly related to the users of the platforms:
Regarding investors, one of the most significant changes is in Article 7 of the PL, linked to public offerings of cryptocurrencies by exchanges, which says:
The public offering of crypto-assets that generate the right to participate, partnership or remuneration, including those resulting from the provision of services, whose income comes from the efforts of the entrepreneur or third parties, is subject to inspection by the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the terms of the Law. No. 6,385, of December 7, 1976.
Article 8 also has a direct relationship with the users of the platforms, it says that:
The resources provided by customers in financial transaction accounts on cryptocurrency exchanges:
I – constitute separate assets, not to be confused with that of the Exchange;
II – they are not directly or indirectly liable for any obligations of the Exchange nor may they be subject to arrest, kidnapping, search and seizure or any other act of judicial constraint due to debts for which Exchange is responsible;
III – are not part of the Exchange’s assets, for purposes of bankruptcy or judicial or extrajudicial liquidation; and
IV – cannot be given in guarantee of debts assumed by the Exchange.
In the case of article 12, the text determines that exchanges provide information to the IRS:
Cryptocurrency Exchanges must provide information to the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil, under the terms defined by it.
Single paragraph. Individuals or legal entities resident or domiciled in the country that carry out operations with crypto-assets in an environment outside Exchanges or in Exchanges domiciled abroad are subject to the provisions of the caput.
Brazil-Europe Integration Forum
Cryptocurrencies and the various forms of government regulation are also the subject of the Brazil-Europe Integration Forum (FIBE), which takes place between the 18th and 21st of April in Lisbon and over the internet.
The website Legal Adviser interviewed Ricardo Morishita Wada, professor at the Brazilian Institute of Education, Development and Research (IDP), who will mediate a Fibe thematic panel focused on economic regulations. For him, the growing decentralization brought about by new technologies also brings risks to democracy, which is why he defended regulation from the perspective of society’s rights, but without imposing barriers to development.
Asked by ConJur if cryptocurrencies need specific regulation in Brazil and if the country is prepared for the world scenario, where cryptoassets are increasingly relevant, the professor replied that:
We live in an increasingly decentralized world. But this does not mean that there is no need for regulation. The risks and threats to society still exist and need to be considered. Hence the regulatory need, in a balanced perspective of development and protection of society. Theme, by the way, recurring on our Fibe this year 2022.
It is important to remember that the bill by Senator Flávio Arns (Podemos-PR) was approved by the Senate Economic Affairs Committee and is about to be voted on in plenary. And it will allow Brazil to be more prepared for the new world scenario of cryptocurrencies.
ConJur also asked Morishita if it would be possible to deny the importance of States in relation to the growth of decentralized and independent means of payment. He replied:
Yes, you can. And, with it, an impact on the exercise of rights, which would affect democracy itself. Therefore, although the deregulation process may be an appeal to new technologies, its total suppression does not seem possible. Even the example of Uber, as we could see, was not the same in many other countries. Prudence has taught us that virtue is in balance. Not to impede or establish barriers to development, nor to leave society without any protection, or, in legal language, without any rights.
At the end of February, Cointelegraph Brazil also consulted some experts from the national crypto market to find out if they think it is good or bad to create regulatory rules for cryptocurrencies, which were created precisely to ‘escape’ the power of the State.