Former president of the Central Bank (Bacen) and ex-Minister of Finance Henrique Meirelles said he does not intend to relinquish his position on the board of exchange Binance. In an interview with Valor Econômico, Meirelles said that his focus is on the company and the private cryptocurrency sector. In this way, Meirelles removes any speculation that he could take up a position in an eventual government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The former minister has already given his support to the current candidate, but ruled out the possibility of taking up public office after the elections. In the interview, Meirelles also said that he will put his efforts to broker the dialogue between Binance and Bacen. Meirelles also spoke about regulation of cryptocurrencies in Brazil, Bitcoin (BTC) and was against the replacement of cryptocurrencies by central bank digital currencies (CBDC).
Meirelles praises digital real, but criticizes competition
Although he declared his support for Lula’s candidacy, Meirelles said that he will not assume any position in an eventual PT government. Instead, the executive intends to help strengthen Binance’s ties with Bacen, which will be managed by Roberto Campos Neto until 2024. In this sense, Meirelles stated that he intends to meet with Campos Neto and Bacen authorities, but the meeting has not yet been scheduled. Meanwhile, Meirelles continues to study PL 4401/2021, which regulates cryptocurrencies in Brazil. In addition, the former minister also spoke about CBDCs and the role of Bacen in creating the digital real. According to Meirelles, crypto-assets are the “future” of finance and he praised Bacen’s performance in creating the Brazilian digital currency. However, he criticized the idea that CBDCs would be substitutes for cryptocurrencies. “I am liberal. I do not believe in measures to curb or control the market for the benefit of a government. Each will find its place, whether the private sector, with its ability to attract professionals from around the world, or the State, if it manages to be efficient enough to have a wide adoption of its cryptocurrency”, said Meirelles.
Bitcoin is not just an investment
In the interview, Meirelles also talked about the latest research by Chainalysis, which places Brazil as the seventh largest market in the world for cryptocurrencies. In the executive’s view, Brazil’s prominent position – which is a leader in Latin America – brings greater responsibility in terms of regulating these assets. As explained by Valor, Meirelles said that Brazil can only gain from a regulation that has a good balance between preventing fraud and encouraging innovation in the sector with legal certainty. The same attitude that bodies such as Bacen and the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) have. Meirelles also defended that the cryptocurrency sector be a source of education and deconstruction of myths in Brazil. For example, the idea that cryptocurrencies are just for investments, which Meirelles cited as one of those myths. “Of course it has this (investment) role, but the whole point of assets like bitcoin is to serve as a means of payment,” he said. Finally, Meirelles spoke about Binance and its relationship with Brazilian regulators, praising the composition of the company’s board. He also highlighted that Binance intends to comply with all Brazilian laws. “Binance is in this phase of empowering and structuring several areas to improve its compliance, defining the internal organizational structure so that this can be translated into practical measures”, concludes Meirelles. Also Read: DOT Breaks $6 And Sets New Bullish Pattern Read Also: Walmart Enters Metaverse With Roblox Experiments Also Read: Researchers Propose ‘Reversible Token’ On Ethereum To Stop Crypto Theft; understand
