Brazil OKs Crypto Regulation Bill, Legitimizes BTC As Payment And Investment Asset

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro approved a crypto regulation bill on Thursday morning.

The move establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for the usage and trading of digital assets in the country, according to the federal government’s official journal (DOU).

The crypto regulation bill — recently passed by Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies and the Senate — was implemented by Bolsonaro without any changes.

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According to the new regulations, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is considered a digital representation of value that can be used in the South American country as a form of payment as well as an investment asset.

The bill defines a virtual asset as "a digital representation of value that can be negotiated or transferred electronically and used for payments or as an investment."

The new law, which will take effect 180 days after the President’s nod, does not declare Bitcoin, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), or any other cryptocurrency to be the nation's official form of payment.

Despite this, the legitimacy given to Bitcoin’s use case as payment is significant and could encourage more activity in the nation.

However, how much of it actually occurs depends on the regulator's actions.

The government agencies in charge of regulating the market will be chosen by the executive branch.

The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) is anticipated to be in charge when using Bitcoin as a form of payment, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) of Brazil would be in charge when using it as a kind of investment asset.

The federal tax authority (RFB), the BCB, and the CVM all contributed to the development of the overall legislation.

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