The executive power introduced a new crypto bill to the Parliament of Uruguay. The purpose of the bill is to seek clarification on the regulation of crypto assets in the country.
It would give the Central Bank of Uruguay oversight of crypto assets and modify its organic charter. Furthermore, the Superintendence of Financial Services will be chosen to oversee virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
New bill
A bill project was presented by Uruguay’s executive power in the parliament that aims to clarify the regulation of crypto-related activities.
If the bill is approved, it would be the first one to address the gray area of Uruguay in which virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and crypto exchanges are currently operating.
The bill includes the modification of the charter of the country’s central bank and also introduces an organization that would be part of the central bank.
This would be called the Superintendence of Financial Services, which will be responsible for monitoring the activities of VASPs in Uruguay.
The document clarifies that this class would include companies facilitating the exchange or purchase of virtual assets, custody providers, and third parties offering financial services pertaining to the sale or offer of virtual assets.
A new class
It is also important to note that a new class of organization has also been introduced in the proposed bill, which is called a ‘virtual asset issuer’.
This refers to a platform issuing any type of virtual asset, which would be within the regulatory framework, or asks for listing of virtual assets on a trading platform.
Similar to other legislations in the area that aim to introduce the institutions that will serve as watchdogs of the crypto industry, the proposed bill in Uruguay does the same.
It suggests that all tasks related to supervision be handed to the Central Bank of Uruguay.
Regulation
The document highlights that after the modifications that have been proposed, all subjects that were previously regulated, along with entities newly incorporated and operating with virtual assets, would be supervised by the Central Bank of Uruguay.
It should be noted that the bill’s text also refers to virtual asset securities that are recognized as the digital counterparts of traditional financial securities.
Apart from this bill, there have been other attempts in Uruguay for legalizing the use of cryptocurrencies for payment purposes.
Last year, Senator Juan Sartori presented a crypto bill project that was aimed at crypto legalization as a payment method.
Moreover, the world’s leading crypto exchange Binance had also been summoned by the Central Bank of Uruguay in August.
This was in regard to the offerings of its savings-oriented financial products in the country, which are based on cryptocurrencies.
The fact that Uruguay is focusing on regulating crypto assets and companies in the crypto industry is no surprise, given that the market is expanding in the country.
Other countries are also making similar moves, as it becomes apparent that cryptocurrencies are here to stay and proper regulation should be in place.
