Brazil's Senate Announces Imminent Approval of "Bitcoin Law"

On April 13, a bill to regulate the cryptocurrency market in Brazil is expected to be approved by the National Assembly in the first half of this year. The legislation, which has been debated in the House of Representatives since 2015, was approved in its first round of deliberations. The Senate attached it to another cryptocurrency-focused bill that has already been approved by the Senate Economic Affairs Committee. The two lawmakers, Senator Irajá Abreu and Senator Aureo Ribeiro, who are rapporteurs on the above-mentioned proposals in their respective legislative chambers, are drafting a unified text of the bill that will be presented to the full Senate for a vote. The plenary’s approval of the law will not make bitcoin legal tender in Brazil, as El Salvador did. The proposed law would allow Brazil’s president to identify a federal entity responsible for setting the rules for cryptocurrencies. The president will create a new regulator or delegate this function to the country's Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) or the Central Bank of Brazil (BC). Regulators will be responsible for defining market norms and establishing norms in line with international standards to prevent money laundering and concealment of assets. The bill also proposes a prison sentence of four to eight years for those who commit fraud in the provision of virtual asset services, in addition to fines. Another point highlighted by the bill is a series of incentives for cryptocurrency miners to do business in Brazil. It proposes tax exemptions for ASIC imports into the country. However, this may not be enough to attract Bitcoin miners to the country, as Brazil has the highest energy prices in South America, about 5 times higher than countries such as Paraguay and Venezuela.

Source:Tencent.com