A fintech bill, which seeks to regulate fintech and cryptocurrency-related activities in Chile, has been approved by the deputy chamber of the congress, leaving it ready to be sanctioned by the president of Chile, Gabriel Boric. According to individuals in the sector, the bill is directed to stimulate innovation and competition in an unregulated market.

Fintech Bill Almost Law in Chile

A fintech-related bill, that seeks to bring clarity to institutions providing digital and cryptocurrency-based services, has been approved by the deputy chamber of the congress in Chile. The project, which was approved without any votes against it in the Chilean senate, is now in the hands of President Gabriel Boric, who must sign it for it to be sanctioned.

The bill includes in its scope the oversight of cryptocurrency exchanges, and defines cryptocurrency assets as a “digital representation of exchange units of money, goods or
services.” It also broadens the regulatory reach of the Financial Market Commission to include the supervision of cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrency custody providers.

The Chilean finance minister, Mario Marcel, noted that this bill was directed to entice competition in a sector that was considered part of a gray, unregulated area until now. He stated:

I would like to emphasize that it is a project that does not seek to favor a particular sector, it seeks to promote competition and allow institutions that are different from our traditional banking or traditional financial retail to compete by providing cheaper financial services to the public, it is a pro-competition project.

Reactions and Views

The approval of the bill has been received positively by companies and personalities in the sector in Chile, who think the project will attract new investments into the country and will allow companies that are already operating to regulate their status. Chile has been home to several judiciary battles between banks and cryptocurrency companies in the past, and this law aims to avoid more controversies in that aspect.

Samuel Canas, legal manager of Buda, one of the biggest exchanges in Chile, celebrated the approval of the law. He declared:

The new regulations provide greater certainty for the growth of this industry, attracting more investment and defining a specific legal framework that did not exist until now.

Canas also believes that, if sanctioned, this bill would help people with no access to the traditional financial system to have access to financial instruments provided by these fintech and alternative finance companies.

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