Amid global turbulence, more controls over Bitcoin: powerhouse asks for more information from those who operate with cryptocurrencies

The Central Bank has moved forward with its plan to request information from banks and fintechs on transactions made with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, something that many players in the financial system are starting to see as the prerequisite for regulation to control this transaction or, at least, to register those who carry it out. The BCRA explained that the origin of the order can be found in the requests received from the banks on the legal conditions of operation. And they specify that the requested data does not concern buyers of cryptocurrencies but the companies that sell them.

Last week, the price of Bitcoin fell below $ 50,000 following reports that the U.S. government may impose a wealth tax. The cryptocurrency nearly hit $ 47,000 just over a week after hitting $ 65,000, its all-time high. Yesterday, Saturday, it was trading at around $ 51,000.

The BCRA’s request arises from a note addressed to the four entities which group together the banks, ABA (foreign), Adeba (nationals), Abappra (public and private) and ABE (specialized). He also came to the Argentinian Chamber of FinTech, owned by many of the major companies that operate with cryptocurrencies in the country.

The note that arrived at these institutions asks for all the data “Tending to allow the identification of customers known to administer, manage, control and / or process the movements of assets and / or payments via electronic management platforms in the name and order of human and legal persons resident in the country or abroad, using crypto assets“.

In order not to leave any activity out of control, the BCRA added that it should also include “those who provide crypto asset protection services” or those “who have set up crypto asset mining farms and / or have implemented investments and / or funding platforms based on them ”.

“Cryptocurrencies like DAI or USDT allow many people to be satisfied with the interest of dollarizing their savings without affecting reserves. For the Central Bank, cryptocurrencies are a positive externality. It’s win-win, the government wins and we win, ”they explain in an operator

This last point, that of investments, is gaining importance in the heterogeneous world of fintech, where everything is not digital wallet or online credit. There are many applications dedicated to investments, which allow you to enter and withdraw dollars from the country. through the stable coins, cryptocurrencies linked to a conventional currency, in particular the dollar, such as the DAI or the USDT. Many suspect that this is the real interest of the Central Bank.

In the crypto world, as might be expected, they reject the desire of the powerhouse and wait for checks. “All of our transactions are carried out through the financial system, they always start with virgin money, deposited in a bank account. The most popular is Bitcoin, but other cryptocurrencies such as DAI or USDT allow many people to satisfy the interest of dollarizing their savings without affecting reserves. For the Central Bank, cryptocurrencies are a positive externality. It’s win-win, the government wins and we win ”, A senior executive at one of the country’s major cryptocurrency operators is sincere, who also admits that the surge of cryptocurrency buyers is largely due to the intention to dollarize and avoid checks and balances. changes.

The data requested by the BCRA

The order includes those who have traded since April 1, 2020 and must be submitted to the BCRA by April 30. Each operator must be informed of the name or company name, the CUIT, its contact details (address, telephone, email) as well as “types of products and / or services that customers have contracted with the declaring establishment”.

In Argentina, according to various market sources, 2 million accounts have already been opened to work with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It should be noted that this does not imply that there are this number of active clients. Opening an account is free and takes a few minutes, so it is common for a customer to open them on different platforms to experiment, see what currencies they offer and find out how user-friendly they are, especially for newbies. in this market.

The requirement replaced a first request that, as Infobae had put forward on April 2, the BCRA addressed to the same recipients, with a deadline of April 7 that, apparently, few have met. In this first request, the BCRA highlighted the information on all those who own Bitcoin, since it asked the banks “identify clients who have accounts to hold crypto assets “. Now instead clarified that it will only require information from any company providing a service related to the crypto world, but not from simple Bitcoin holders.

At the time, BCRA sources explained that the origin of the request for information was that many banks and even fintech operators had consulted the monetary authority on the legal conditions of operation. They added that some operators have applied to be registered as a payment service provider (PSP). And that for this reason, the Central was “in the process of studying whether regulation was necessary”, stressing that “it is common to ask banks for information on topics of interest before moving forward” in new regulations.

Some operators have applied to be registered as a payment service provider (PSP)

Once this deadline had elapsed and given the confusion and the few responses, the BCRA held a virtual briefing with the entities from which this second request finally arose, on the basis of the note in “the emergence of the provision of financial services based on crypto assets, the speed with which they are deployed, and given the fact that there is no national registry to identify the actors deemed relevant for the provision to the public of said services “. For this reason, the BCRA asked the chambers a” collaboration “in order to move forward” in the understanding of the universe under study “.

It is so difficult to understand this market that the entities did not go unnoticed letter pearl: the central was forced to explain what a cryptoasset. “In order to specify the requirement, and as long as A consensus has not yet been reached on the definition of cryptoactive in the various international forums and local spheres, In order to make this demand operational, it should be understood as such any digital or virtual representation of value, based on encryption technologies, that can be traded or transferred digitally, that can be used as a payment instrument or for investment purposes. », Detailed the BCRA.

KEEP READING: