Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro approves legislation regulating cryptocurrencies. The corporations will have 180 days to abide by the law’s requirements under the proposed measure with the law expected to come in the effect from June 2023. Brazil has one of the largest economies in the world and the largest in South America, so this is a significant development. A nod of approval from a nation like Brazil goes a long way toward giving legitimacy to the troubled area, where trust has been steadily eroding in 2022. The bill may also be helpful in providing India and other nations with a model for how to regulate cryptocurrencies.
In accordance with the legislation, fraud involving virtual assets is punishable by a fine and a four- to six-year prison sentence. The law makes it clear that Brazilian citizens are not permitted to use Bitcoin as legal cash there. The new law creates the offence of fraud with virtual assets, which carries a sentence of four to six years in prison as well as a fine. Additionally, it creates a licensing system for companies that offer services related to virtual assets, such as exchanges and trading intermediates. However, unlike El Salvador, residents would not be able to utilize cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as legal cash in the nation. However, the recently passed law defines a number of digital currencies as acceptable payment methods in Brazil. A day after this bill formed, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) granted investment funds permission to own cryptocurrency.