Key takeaways:
- The government has started implementing the rules that cryptocurrency exchanges must meet to operate lawfully in Argentina.
- Unregistered virtual asset service providers “will not be able to operate” in the nation, according to CNV President Roberto Silva.
The government has started implementing the rules that cryptocurrency exchanges must meet to operate lawfully in Argentina.
The Argentine version of a securities regulator, Comisión Nacional de Valores (CNV), said on March 25 that virtual asset service providers would follow the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) laws in Argentina are being reformatted. One change is that certain businesses providing services related to cryptocurrencies must register with the government.
On March 14, the Argentine Senate adopted amendments to laws intended to stop money laundering and the funding of terrorism, which advanced the implementation of the law impacting cryptocurrency providers in that nation.
Unregistered virtual asset service providers “will not be able to operate” in the nation, according to CNV President Roberto Silva.
According to reports, Javier Milei’s victory in November 2023’s presidential election predated the proposed changes to Argentina’s legislation about cryptocurrency users.
Milei’s rise was applauded by many cryptocurrency supporters at the time for his ostensibly pro-Bitcoin sentiments, but the FATF standards’ execution appears to have many worried about what lies ahead for digital assets in Argentina.
Numerous users of Strike, a well-known software in Argentina that enables Bitcoin payments using the Lightning Network, have complained that the feature no longer permits residents to transfer cash to bank accounts.
It’s unclear how the regulations would impact companies doing business in Argentina or clients looking to hire them. In December 2023, the foreign affairs minister of Argentina stated that contracts might be paid with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
As part of a Malvinas Day ceremony honoring those who lost their lives in the 1982 Falklands War, Milei made a public speech on April 2.
