Uruguay to Further Clarify the Legal Status of Bitcoin in New Regulation

The Central Bank of Uruguay has hinted at the possibility of declaring bitcoin a “non-financial virtual asset,” potentially securing an easier compliance path for virtual asset service providers. Stablecoins, on the other hand, would be classified as “financial virtual assets.”

Uruguay to Clarify Status of Bitcoin and Other Virtual Assets in New Regulation

The Central Bank of Uruguay has hinted at the issuance of new regulations to clarify the status of bitcoin and other virtual assets and the licenses that virtual asset service providers (VASPs) must obtain to provide trading and custody services for these assets.

At the Blockchain Summit Global conference, held in Montevideo, Patricia Tudisco, Superintendent of Financial Regulation at the Central Bank of Uruguay, revealed that some elements needed to be addressed in the previously approved cryptocurrency law, given the new developments regarding international compliance.

One of the elements that the bank needs to address is the differentiation between “financial” and “non-financial” virtual assets, given that the previous law includes even the latter in its scope.

She stated:

This fundamental distinction is made because, for the ‘virtual financial asset service provider,’ the focus of regulation is on consumer protection and anti-money laundering issues.

She added that for the so-called “non-financial” virtual assets, the focus would only be on anti-money laundering issues, dropping the consumer regulation elements.

Tudisco stressed that, under the central bank’s consideration, bitcoin would be classified as a non-financial virtual asset, meaning that companies only providing custody of these assets would not have to acquire a license for their activities.

In opposition, centralized stablecoins such as USDT would fall under the classification of financial virtual assets, with companies providing stablecoin services having to apply for a more comprehensive license.

“That’s why I was telling you about this review, which I think should be considered at some point, because in other countries the regulation was based on the activity, on the services provided, without considering what the specific purpose [of the virtual asset] was,” Tudisco concluded.

Read more: Uruguay Passes Cryptocurrency Law