Columbian Congressman Highlights Challenges Of Crypto Legislation

Mauricio Toro stands as a congressman of Columbia, as well as a member of the Alianza Verde party. Toro has recently authored a draft bill, with the intent to regulate the crypto industry within Columbia. In a recent interview done with Confidencial Colombia, a local news outlet, he highlighted the challenges the proposed legislation could face

Fears Of Lagging Behind

Toro is convinced that Columbia is lagging behind other nations when it comes to the regulation of cryptocurrencies. He explained that one of the key challenges of regulating the crypto industry, is to ensure that it complies with AML procedures as an industry. With AML measures in place, Toro hopes that the negative perception of cryptocurrency could be bypassed within the country. Crypto is frequently associated with crime, due to its nature being very favorable for criminal use.

Trying To Ease Association Of Crypto Crime

Alongside this, the congressman highlighted how any scenario within Columbia could be used to launder money. Thus, crypto isn’t special in its own right, though it should be noted that it’s relatively easier with cryptocurrency. Toro explained that this bill tries to ensure that cryptocurrencies are not used for money laundering, at least not within Columbia.

This can be done by way of special requirements needed for groups wanting to establish an exchange, mandating to report the number of transactions per month. Alongside this, these parties must also disclose who their clients are, who their owners are, and must also pay tax for the commissions themselves.

Toro had once again highlighted the irony of Colombia’s crypto transaction volumes. Despite having no clear mandate in regards to crypto legislation, the country has one of the largest crypto transaction volumes within Latin America.

Things Are yet To Be Debated

As a result of bureaucratic issues, the debate around Toro’s bill had been forced to be delayed. As it stands now, the debate is currently waiting for the Columbian Financial Superintendence to make a clear stance regarding crypto, whether for or against it.

In recent weeks, the country has been making headlines within the crypto space. On the 22nd of September, 2020, the Columbian government had approved a pilot program. This program called for companies to test various crypto transactions within the regulatory sandbox the government provided.

As it stands now, time will tell whether or not this draft bill will be approved. In the interview, Toro stated that there was no way of telling how the Congress would handle it, as it would open the door to further talks of alternative markets, innovation, and other elements unknown at this point.