A new bill filed in Brazil seeks to introduce bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as approved payment instruments in the country. The bill, submitted by Federal Vice President Paulo Martins, proposes to amend already existing regulations to include several dispositions to officially support cryptocurrency payments and investments.
The new bill proposes to legalize crypto for payments in Brazil
Brazil is one of the latam countries that has made progress in the last year regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies. Currently, a new billis being proposed in the Brazilian Congress that seeks to introduce bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as supported payment instruments. The bill, submitted by Federal Vice President Paulo Martins, proposes to reach this goal by changing already existing Brazilian laws, including the Civil Procedure Code, and introducing several definitions and changes.
If approved, the bill would introduce Disposition XIV to Article 835 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Encrypted assets are understood not as currency but as digital representations of value with their own unit of measurement, traded electronically through the use of cryptography, and used within the scope of distributed ledger technology as financial assets, means of exchange or payment, means of access to goods or services, or investments used as a financial asset, a means of exchange or payment, a means of accessing goods or services, or an investment.
Collection of Crypto by Courts
The bill also introduces the option of collecting and paying debts in crypto through the courts and clearly defines the steps required to use this technology. The bill first and foremost protects the user’s private keys and makes it clear that the court cannot access these in any case. To cancel a debt in cryptocurrency, the debtor must deposit the required cryptocurrency in a specific court wallet.
In the case of debt collection, the court would work with the intermediary and take steps to block the debtor’s crypto assets to ensure that the debtor meets its obligations. However, the bill does not define a procedure when there is no intermediary holding the funds, i.e., when the assets are in a self-custody wallet.
{This is part of an effort by the national regulator to establish clear norms for the use of crypto in Brazil. A separate cryptocurrency bill has already been debated and approved by the Brazilian Senate and is expected to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies of Congress in the coming months.
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