Cryptocurrency Market Update: Paraguayan Senate has adopted a bill regulating cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency Market Update: Paraguayan Senate has adopted a bill regulating cryptocurrencies

The Paraguayan Senate has approved a measure that would regulate cryptocurrencies and their activities in the country. The law, which had already been brought to the deputy chamber, was passed after some minor suggested changes, establishing clear definitions and tax exemptions for companies involved in cryptocurrency and crypto mining.

Latam countries are working to standardize and regulate cryptocurrencies to provide greater certainty to investors committed to the business in the region. On July 14, the Paraguayan senate approved a cryptocurrency bill that lays out several guidelines that businesses and people must abide to use cryptocurrencies.

The bill, which Senator Fernando Silva Facetti and others filed last year, was changed by the deputy chamber, which made certain suggestions that Facetti felt were improvements. The bill designated the country's Ministry of Industry and Commerce as the body in charge of policing cryptocurrency-related services.

The bill also stipulates that cryptocurrency mining businesses must submit a power consumption plan to the national power administration, which has the authority to shut off their power supply if they don't comply. Additionally, advance payments will be required for the electricity services.

Businesses that deal in cryptocurrencies will not be subject to value-added taxes, but they will be required to pay income taxes.

The cryptocurrency bill has been adopted by the Senate, and now Mario Abdo Bentez, the president of the nation, must decide whether to endorse it or reject the bill. However, certain parliamentarians voiced their displeasure with the law's adoption in its current form, advocating for a presidential veto in specific cases.

Esperanza Martnez, another senator, opposed the cryptocurrency bill initiative and claimed that it wasn't even a legitimate sector. Martinez said that “the sector was extractivist and electro-intensive, saying that it used a lot of resources for the few jobs it did provide.”

Another senator, Enrique Bacchetta, agreed with Martinez's viewpoint and demanded that the bill be vetoed by the president. If vetoed, this cryptocurrency measure wouldn't be the first in Latin America to go through this. In June, Laurentino Cortizo, the president of Panama, partially rejected a bill regulating cryptocurrencies because he was concerned about potential money laundering concerns.