In a plenary session, Brazil’s Senate passed the country’s first bill overseeing cryptocurrencies, paving the way for the establishment of a regulatory framework for the country’s crypto industry.
Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco chaired the session that authorized the project, saying:
“I want to congratulate the rapporteur of the project, Senator Irajá, for the approval, here in the Plenary of the Senate, for this important bill.”
To become law in the country, the bill must be approved by the Chamber of Deputies and then signed by President Jair Bolsonaro. According to experts who spoke with Cointelegraph Brasil, this is predicted to happen before the end of 2022.
Brazil’s first crypto regulatory framework
Federal deputy Aureo Ribeiro first submitted the bill in 2015.
Following extensive consideration on Tuesday, the bill was approved in the Senate, combining Senator Ribeiro’s bill with Senator Arns’ bill PL 3825/2019, for which Senator Irajá Abreu served as rapporteur.
During the session, the Senate confirmed that the executive branch of the government would be in charge of drafting crypto-asset regulations, with the option of creating a new regulator or delegating authority to the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) or the Central Bank of Brazil (BC).
Several senators, including the bill’s author, Senator Arns, focused discussion on suitable sanctions for crypto crimes, particularly fraud, during the session.
Senator Arns believes that the severity of the sanctions should be proportional to the amount of fraud, money laundering, and other white-collar crimes committed.
Senator Arns’ motion was supported by Senator Rose de Freitas, who asked for harsher penalties for cryptocurrency-related offenses and stated that the Brazilian market had already moved more than $40 billion.
Brazil opens doors to crypto miners
Senators also considered enticing cryptocurrency miners to set up shop in Brazil, as the import of ASIC mining gear into the country will be tax-free.
The bill does not appear to encounter many obstacles in the Chamber of Deputies, where it must be passed in a plenary session before being delivered to President Bolsinaro.