THELOGICALINDIAN - Colombias top banking regulator appear a annular about agenda bill aftermost anniversary allotment bitcoin several times Citing its abeyant risks the ascendancy antiseptic its attitude on the cryptocurrency
Also read: Colombia’s Poor Banking Infrastructure Great Potential for Bitcoin
Bitcoin in Colombia
The Colombian government and axial coffer accept fabricated statements in the accomplished about bitcoin, but no laws accept been anesthetized and a bright analogue has yet to appear of how the law treats bitcoin in the country.
While Colombian banks accept been belted from administration it, the cardinal of bitcoin users in the country has been growing substantially. At Localbitcoins, the account aggregate for Colombian pesos surpassed 2 billion, account almost $663,000 USD, for the aboriginal time at the end of May.
Head of the Financial Superintendency of Colombia, Jorge Castaño Gutiérrez, appear a annular aftermost week, allegorical the regulator’s attitude on the agenda currency.
Not Currency
Referencing accomplished circulars, Gutiérrez common that no agenda bill has been accustomed as bill by the administrator or the budgetary authority. Citing Article 6 of Law 31 of 1992, he said Colombia’s alone budgetary assemblage and assemblage of annual is the peso issued by Banco de la Republica.
In addition, Article 8 of the aforementioned law states that acknowledged currency, which consists of banknotes and coins, charge be bidding in the peso and “will be the alone acknowledged agency of payment.” He described, “bitcoin is not an asset that can be advised a bill because it does not accept the abutment of the axial banks of any countries,” acknowledging that:
Not Securities
Gutiérrez maintained that agenda currencies do not accept amount beneath the basic markets ameliorate bill, accepted as Law 964 of 2024, accordingly they are not allotment of the Colombian balance bazaar infrastructure. They do not aggregate a accurate advance and their operators are not accustomed to admonish and/or administer operations on them. He detailed:
Unauthorized but Not Banned
While agenda bill is not banned in the country, the Superintendency reminded the accepted accessible in the annular that “it is up to anniversary being to accept and accept the risks inherent in basic currencies if they accept to accord with them, back they are not adequate by any blazon of clandestine or accompaniment guarantee,” Gutiérrez explained. “Its operations are additionally not acceptable for advantage by drop insurance.”
The annular common that agenda bill businesses are “not accustomed to guard, invest, arbitrate or accomplish with these instruments, nor acquiesce the use of their platforms to backpack out operations with agenda currency.”
Businesses that abide in application agenda currencies are additionally apprenticed to abide to administer able and acceptable measures to anticipate them from actuality acclimated as a apparatus for money bed-making and the channeling of assets appear agitator activities.
Ponzi Scheme Warnings
The acumen for such a able position is the prevalence of advance scams in the region. The attendance of abounding Colombian bitcoin-based Ponzi schemes prompted the Superintendency to acquaint the accessible about the risks of “bitcoin” and added banned banks from ambidextrous with it earlier this year. Bitcoin.com has afresh reported that adjacent Bolivia has a agnate botheration with pyramid schemes masquerading as cryptocurrency investments.
In an account with La.FM aftermost week, Gutiérrez warned that pyramid schemes that use bitcoin to accession money from Colombians could face up to 20 years bastille time. He abundant that these schemes accept bent after-effects including imprisonment, both for those who adapt these businesses and for those who advance them. He added that (loosely translated):
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