RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Paraguay’s Congress approved a draft regulation on the mining and commercialization of cryptocurrencies in the country, despite the opposition presented by the Central Bank.
At the meeting convened last Wednesday to deal with the issue, the plan obtained 40 votes in favor and 12 against. However, the Senate must ratify the decision before putting it in the hands of Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez.
“The present law is of mandatory application for any individual or legal entity domiciled in the Republic of Paraguay that engages in the activities of mining, commercialization, intermediation, exchange, transfer, production, custody, and administration of crypto assets or instruments that allow control over crypto assets,” reads the bill.
Article 11 recognizes “crypto assets mining as an industrial and innovative activity. This activity will benefit from all the incentive mechanisms provided for in the national legislation”.
The proposal intends to regulate, safeguard, and manage digital assets, especially bitcoin, at an industrial level and does not declare the latter as legal tender.
The Paraguayan Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) will coordinate regulatory activities together with the National Securities Commission, which will also determine the digital assets allowed for trading in the stock market.
The Secretariat for the Prevention of Money or Asset Laundering, the National Electricity Administration, and the Ministry of Finance also support the law.
So far, Latin American countries such as Argentina, Panama, Brazil, El Salvador, and Paraguay have proposed laws to use digital currencies in legal payments.