Argentina’s Federal Administration of Public Revenue (AFIP) has introduced a new policy that will require crypto exchanges and payment groupers to file data on their customers’ monthly transactions. The authority took this course of action due to the increasing adoption of crypto in the country. Reportedly, more than a million Argentinians purchased cryptocurrencies over the past few months.
The agency introduced this policy through Form 8126, which mandates crypto exchanges and payment groupers to submit the required data by the 15th day of the subsequent month. In so doing, the agency intends to get some control over the crypto sector in the country, which has exploded over a short span due to raging inflation, which became worse after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The data from each exchange should include the list of accounts with which they identify each client. Additionally, they must include information on registrations, cancellations, and modifications that occur to these accounts. Apart from this, the exchanges must include information on the amounts of income, expenses, and the total monthly balances of the accounts.
Argentina currently has two crypto bills pending approval
Argentina lawmakers came up with two bills that seek to create a regulatory framework to govern the country’s crypto industry. However, the bills have been sitting in the Chamber of Deputies, awaiting approval since last year. The first one was suggested by deputy Ignacio Torres of the PRO, while the second one was prepared by Liliana Schwindt and Marcos Cleri, from the Frente de Todos.
Both bills seek to institutionalized blockchain-based instruments to let banks become crypto custodians. The bills also aim to shield investors from the sale and promotion of capital investments from players in the crypto space. Apart from this, the bills also propose the first legal definition of currencies.
This definition finds that cryptos don’t have to be necessarily issued by a central bank or a public authority. Both bills note that cryptocurrencies must not have the legal status of money or currency and must be decentralised. Additionally, the bills agree that cryptocurrencies can be transferred, stored, traded electronically. Finally, the bills cited that digital currencies would be acceptable by citizens as a means of payment, exchange, or as investments.
The only significant difference between the bills is the choice of preferred organizations to enforce the law should the bills pass into law. While the opposition suggests AFIP, National Securities Commission (CNV), or the Central Bank, the ruling party only deems CNV fit.
