Key Takeaways:
- Brazil is looking to make Bitcoin legal payment with a legislation that would regulate crypto
- Brazilian lawmakers already approved a draft of a bill that seeks to regulate Bitcoin
What’s the Latest News on Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is likely to be embraced by one more country following the first-mover El Salvador. In more detail, Brazil is working on a legislation that seeks to regulate bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Brazilian lawmakers, however, are not only hammering out legal ways to invest in digital currencies. They are also looking to give bitcoin the status of a legal “payment currency”.
In practice, adopting Bitcoin as legal currency in Brazil would be a huge step for the growing acceptance of crypto. Due to the sheer size of Brazil, bitcoin will be available to more than 212 million people. Moreover, in 2020, the country boasted an economy with a GDP of more than $1.445tn.
Brazil’s Efforts to Regulate and Adopt Bitcoin
The Congress of Brazil, the legislative body of the country, already approved a draft of Bill 2.303/15. In practice, the bill seeks to regulate digital currencies. Note that the initial proposal of the legislation aimed only to allow cryptos to be legally traded.
Presently, bitcoin trading or investing is not regulated and use of it is discouraged. That is about to change if the bill is passed.
Furthermore, a modified version of the legislation was proposed by Deputy Aureo Ribeiro of the Solidariedade Party. That being said, the updated draft wants to give Bitcoin the status of a “payment currency” in Brazil. However, the bill does not say Bitcoin would be considered a national currency or legal tender. To that end, the definition of “payment currency” is not yet clear.
What is intended with the bill, though, is to allow bitcoin to become a legal means of payment.
Deputy Ribeiro Calls for Bitcoin to Become Payment Currency
“We want to separate the wheat from the chaff, create regulations so that you can trade,” Mr. Ribeiro said in an interview. That way, you could “know where you’re buying and know who you’re dealing with,” he added.
If the bill is enacted, citizens could “buy a house, a car, go to McDonald’s to buy a hamburger,” with bitcoin, Mr. Ribeiro noted. “It will be a currency in the country just like it is in other countries,” he said. On that note, the Deputy was probably referring to El Salvador where bitcoin is now legal tender.