A senator from Uruguay introduced a bill to regulate cryptocurrency and enable businesses to accept crypto payments. The bill would also regulate cryptocurrencies’ use within the South American country.
Sen. Juan Sartori presented the bill on Tuesday. The bill seeks to provide “legal, financial and fiscal security in the business derived from the production and commercialization” of cryptocurrencies.
Sartori tweeted: “Cryptocurrencies are an opportunity to create investment and jobs. Today we are presenting a bill, a globally pioneering bill, which seeks to establish the legitimate, legal and safe use of [cryptocurrencies] in businesses related to the production and commercialization of [tokens] in Uruguay.”
“Crypto-assets will be recognized and accepted by law and applicable in any legal business. They will be considered a valid means of payment, in addition to those included in the financial inclusion law, as long as they comply with the rules set forth in the law and the regulations,” the bill said.
Sartori’s bill would establish that cryptocurrencies “are products of free sale by those entities and individuals who wish to commercialize them,” and states that any natural or legal person “may receive and/or send funds in the legal tender from and to their own bank accounts or those of licensed companies.”
The bill also proposes “the creation of a” crypto “training program”. It would be free to access for all citizens, led by the Ministry of Education and Culture. If the bill becomes law, the government would issue several licenses. The “first license” would enable companies to trade crypto assets on exchanges. A second license would allow “storing, holding or safekeeping crypto-assets”. The third would be used to issue crypto-assets or utility tokens with “financial characteristics.”
According to the bill, Uruguay’s executive branch would grant the licenses to entities that are in compliance with the anti-money laundering secretariat (Senaclaft) and the Central Bank of Uruguay. For other transactions, the “use of all these instruments will be free and will not require prior consent, permits or licenses.”
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Sartori’s bill also stipulates the regulation of crypto mining. Miners wouldn’t need a special license. However, they would need permits from Uruguay’s Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining in order to operate.
The measure also includes the “promotion of technical training for electrical, civil and computer engineers in the generation of virtual assets.”
This bill does not propose the use of crypto as a legal tender. Till date only one country made the crypto as a legal tender, that is El Salvador. El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender, earlier this year.
