Brazilian President Approves Cryptocurrency Law

Brazil will not make cryptocurrencies an official means of payment, as happened in El Salvador, but Brazilians will be allowed to pay with them for goods and services. The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that legalizes the use of digital currencies as a payment method in the country, and sent it for approval to President Jair Bolsonaro on November 29. The President of Brazil, who is resigning at the end of the year, approved the law, which was the country's latest step in recognizing crypto payments. According to the document, Brazilians will not be able to use cryptocurrencies as an official means of payment, as is the case in El Salvador, however, the law defines many digital currencies as a legal means of payment in Brazil.. It will also establish a licensing regime for virtual asset service providers and a system of punishment for fraud using cryptoassets. The law also includes a requirement according to which crypto exchanges will have to separate the assets of users and the assets of companies – this item was included in the bill after the default of FTX. The law will come into force in 180 days. The Bolsonaro administration did not specify which specific federal agency would regulate cryptocurrency payments.. However, it is reported that in Brazil, as in the US, digital assets considered as securities are regulated by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Earlier, the Brazilian tax authority reported that at the end of August, about 12,000 companies owned digital currencies – this figure increased by 6.1% compared to July and reached a record.