Paraguay Senate Approved BTC Law

The Senate of Paraguay approved on Thursday (16) a bill presented by three senators that aims to regulate activities related to cryptocurrencies in the country.

Called the BTC Law by the press, the text of the regulation indicates the activities of production and commercialization of digital assets.

The initiative, approved in the plenary with some modifications compared to the original version, was presented by senator Fernando Silva Facetti (of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party) in collaboration with his peers Antonio Apuril (Hagamos) and Juan Bartolomé Ramírez (also from PLRA).

Voting ended with 29 votes in favour, 8 against, 6 abstentions and 2 absences.

The law still needs to be approved in the Chamber of Deputies and then regulated by the Executive Power.

If this occurs, companies that sell cryptocurrencies in the country must be included in the Register of Virtual Asset Providers.

Meanwhile, with regard to mining, the project defines and includes it as a plausible “innovative digital industry” to receive the incentives granted by the national government for such purposes.

Likewise, possible sanctions are established for those who carry out this activity without registration.

BTC

The law does not make BTC legal tender, as it did in El Salvador. In addition, it opens loopholes for the creation of taxes for companies that operate with cryptocurrencies.

Despite the approval in the Senate, the Paraguayan media highlights that regulators have not yet given the green light to the initiative.

Among those concerned about the law is the Central Bank of Paraguay. Recently, the monetary authority warned Paraguayans about the risks of owning Bitcoins (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.

The first bill to regulate the country’s cryptocurrencies was presented by deputy Carlos Rejala. However, his proposal was much criticized.

There were those who said that it was a copy of projects from other countries. Still, critics said the project did nothing to contribute to the crypto industry in Paraguay.

The Senate discussed other proposals that, it seems, have the potential to remain in force in 2022 and become the first law on cryptocurrencies in that country.