According to the deputy rapporteur of the PL that regulates cryptocurrencies, Brazilians have evolved their thinking and now want the support of the State to trade more safely. For Expedito Netto (PSD-RO), a lot has changed since 2015, when the bill was presented in the National Congress. At that time, the rapporteur understands that many people did not want the Brazilian State to participate in the market. Several investors feared that the space would be hampered by government action, especially in the face of new technology. Since then, seven years later, PL 2303/2015 has evolved in the debate in the legislature, being approved in 2021 by the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies. Upon arriving at the Federal Senate, already as PL 4401/2021, the text was appreciated by the senators with modifications and had to return to the house where it was created. In recent days, Expedito Netto commented to the press that most of the senators’ suggestions were removed from the final text and the new legislation will practically be the one that has been going through the Chamber for seven years. The main objective of this project is to regulate brokers and fintechs that operate in the cryptocurrency market, giving powers to the Central Bank of Brazil so that it is the supervisory body of the market.
“Brazilians want to trade cryptocurrencies with the presence of the State”, says the rapporteur
In a conversation with Rádio Câmara in recent days, the rapporteur of PL 4401/2021 said that Brazil is ahead of the United States and other countries in regulating the cryptocurrency market. With the project advancing in the legislature with the support of the Central Bank of Brazil, he hopes that the scenario will soon be one of more security in the country for investors. In addition, unlike 2015, Netto believes that today Brazilian investors want state protection to regulate cryptocurrencies.
“I remember when the debate started in 2015. In 2015 we had another investor profile that invested in digital currencies. The profile was of people who did not want the protection of the State, neither being part of nor knowing about the movements, they wanted the risk, which was where the money came from. Today that moment has passed, [brasileiros] want to invest in cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, but they want security, without getting involved with hacks and bandits, with terrorism in digital currencies, so we needed to take care of the population.”
According to Expedito, cryptocurrency investors have another profile, they do not invest in savings, treasury bonds, or other assets. Even so, he believes that this population needs to be protected, even with its different profile. For the rapporteur, the Bill is a way of showing that the Brazilian Government believes in the market and will protect people who want to be exposed to it, mainly by brokers. About the Federal Senate having altered the text of the Chamber, Netto declared that the senators “contaminated the rules and plastered the regulation”. Thus, several items were removed for the final text, including the Penalty increased to 4 years for cryptocurrency crimes.
“The Senate text came to get in the way, to make the House text meaningless, 90% of the proposals will be withdrawn.”
“Cryptocurrencies are not a great innovation”
Expedito Netto said in his interview that cryptocurrencies can be used for various crimes, such as terrorist financing, drug trafficking, money laundering, among others. In this way, the sector must be supervised with rules that act firmly in the sector, although he does not want the “heavy hand of the State” on cryptocurrencies, so that serious investors move away from the market. Even so, he said that virtual money has been around for some time and that cryptocurrencies are not a big innovation in his opinion.
“Digital coins are not the invention of the wheel, at most it made it more beautiful, but it didn’t invent anything. Credit card already existed. We have to stop crime, as criminals are taking advantage of the sector.”
The deputy also defended that there should be an international level regulation on this sector, so that this money does not work against society.
Project not yet approved
Last Monday (13), PL 4401/2021 was re-ruled in the Chamber of Deputies. It was hoped that he would finally be approved by the Plenary to leave the legislature, but that did not happen. With the end of the Chamber’s experience last Wednesday (15), President Arthur Lira postponed all the agendas to next Monday (20), when the matter is back on the agenda. According to Expedito Netto, the final text of the Chamber of Deputies will be presented by next week.