[ad_1]
A representation of the Bitcoin virtual cryptocurrency can be seen in this photo illustration taken on June 14, 2021. REUTERS / Edgar Su / Illustration
ASUNCION, June 25 (Reuters) – Following El Salvador’s dramatic move to legalize bitcoin, a world first, the internet has created a buzz with rumors that another Latin American country may follow suit in his footsteps: Paraguay.
These can be somewhat irrelevant.
Paraguayan lawmaker Carlos Rejala, who inadvertently sparked excitement with a tweet earlier in June, told Reuters on Friday he was pushing a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies, not make them legal tender. .
“It’s a digital asset bill and it differs from El Salvador’s because they take it as legal tender and in Paraguay it will be impossible to do something like that,” centrist lawmaker Rejala said.
Earlier in June, in connection with a story about a local entertainment company planning to accept cryptocurrency, Rejala had tweeted: “This is Paraguay. July we are legislating! #Bitcoin”, which some media and users of Twitter had taken over.
The 36-year-old, who heads a small political party with a total of four seats in Congress, is now seeking support for his bill regulating digital assets. He is working on three bills he intends to present on July 14.
President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele said on Thursday that a recently passed law making bitcoin legal tender would go into effect on September 7, making the Central American nation the first country in the world to take such a step. . Read more
Bukele said he was convinced the project would be a success and could be a “leap forward for humanity”, even though the World Bank refused to offer technical support and the International Monetary Fund expressed its worry. Read more
In Paraguay, Rejala said that despite the lack of a majority in Congress, lawmakers in other parties were interested in his proposal and he was confident of its approval.
“We want regulators and banks to also participate so that Paraguayans or foreigners can operate legally with these assets, because we know that illegal transactions exist here and in other countries,” he said.
“We want to be a crypto friendly country.”
Reporting by Daniela Desantis; Editing by Adam Jourdan and David Gregorio
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
[ad_2]
picture credit