The speakers on bitcoin regulation who participated in the second day of the sixth edition of the Blockchain Summit Latam 2022, agreed that it is necessary to legislate to establish clear rules in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, even if governments are friendly with the crypto assets.
The event that this year is being held in Panama brought together legislators and government representatives in a panel that dealt with “the path towards crypto-friendly countries and the role of regulations in them”.
Participating as panelists were Mónica Taher, director of technological and economic affairs of the government of El Salvador; the Mexican senator Indira Kempis and the Panamanian deputy Gabriel Silva.
When Rodrigo Icaza, as moderator of the panel, asked if it is correct to talk about regulation on a decentralized ecosystem like bitcoin? the panelists agreed that legislating is a necessity for the good of bitcoin and its community. everyone believes that regulate right now, it’s important.
Kempis, for his part, believes that the word regulation is not accurate to refer to a system as open and decentralized as bitcoin.
I don’t like the word regulation because using it gives the State a hierarchical view that it is the one that controls the debate, the votes, the discussions and the agreements. And on the other hand, it also gives you the power to create laws or rules and regulations that actually impose punishments.
Indira Kempis, senator of the Congress of Mexico.
Given this, the Mexican senator believes that the participation of civil society is essential to put forward proposals for regulations and laws that do not stop innovation. Her idea is that countries anticipate the future “instead of pretending that you can control something that you no longer have control of.”
In this regard, Senator proposed the creation of a “perfect triad” in the countries to legislate on bitcoin. This consists of the integration of the private sector, civil society and representatives of the State to support agreements in the creation of a legal framework that adapts to the cryptocurrency sector.
“Bitcoin and regulation do not go hand in hand, but it has to be done”
For his part, the independent deputy Gabriel Silva from Panama said that “in an ideal world we should not regulate bitcoin, but the reality is that we live in a much more complex planet.”
spoke of the different approaches with which bitcoin is being regulated in the countries of the worldwhere some prohibit like China, others are more open like the United States and there are even some like El Salvador where the cryptoactive is declared as legal tender.
However, he believes that legislating is key to define the position on which each country will be based on the general ecosystem of cryptocurrencies.
There are countries in which there is no legal clarity, a position is not even taken, but it must be taken into account that at any time that position can change, for the worse or for the better. That is why it is necessary to legislate because being in that limbo today represents many problems.
Gabriel Silva, deputy of the Assembly of Panama.
Silva prefers to use the word “promote” instead of “regulate” and asks the countries of the continent to legislate in favor of bitcoin to avoid that in five years someone arrives who will do it, but to prohibit.
“As a legislator, I prefer to take advantage of the moment to legislate in favor of this now so that there is a clear position of what the future should be,” added Silva.
The Panamanian deputy was the proponent of a bill for the regulation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Panama. However, the proposal was partially objected by President Laurentino Cortizo, who requested correction on several points.
Silva made it clear that the document is under review and the necessary adjustments will be made before being presented again to the president for final approval.
“What the bill that we are promoting seeks is to eliminate the barriers that exist in Panama to trade with cryptocurrencies. We want to create that opening so that bitcoin can be bought, sold and transacted more freely,” explained Silva.
Is it necessary to legislate only on bitcoin?
Icaza, the moderator of the panel, asked Mónica Taher How convenient is it to legislate only on bitcoin as El Salvador did? To which she replied that the country is preparing itself with a set of regulations that will cover the entire ecosystem.
Taher commented that “an avalanche of companies” related to cryptocurrencies arrived in El Salvador after bitcoin was declared legal tender in the country. Many of these companies focus on the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, the NFT market, or blockchain application projects.
We have not closed the doors to these companies and we are not going to do so because they are not only focused on bitcoin. What the government of El Salvador will do then is a legal framework consisting of 52 laws that includes regulation for the entire cryptocurrency sector.
Mónica Taher, director of technological and economic affairs of the government of El Salvador.
The official clarified that this does not mean that El Salvador is going to declare a group of cryptoactives as legal tender. “On the contrary, what is being done is to create a protection framework so that all companies that arrive in the country can operate normally,” she pointed out.
for Taher legislating on the cryptocurrency sector is convenient for the country and its society to better adapt to a process of changewhich is already underway.
He adds that El Salvador was ahead of financial developments. For this reason, the changes are already visible in its economy, leaving aside that the cryptocurrency market is going through a bearish moment.
We are seeing that the traditional and predatory monetary system is collapsing. Maybe it will be a gradual process, but we are already seeing it because ordinary people, like you and me, are taking matters into their own hands by buying bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency. It means that we are no longer depending on banks that belong to only two or three people. I believe that the idea of the series of legislation that is handled in El Salvador is also to make life easier for the unbanked.
Mónica Taher, director of technological and economic affairs of the government of El Salvador.