Brazil’s President Signs Crypto Regulations Into Law

This article is adapted from CoinDesk Brasil, a partnership between CoinDesk and InfoMoney, one of Brazil's leading financial news publications. Follow CoinDesk Brasil on Twitter.

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday approved a crypto regulation bill recently passed by that country’s Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

The new law establishes a crime of fraud involving virtual assets, with a penalty of between four and six years in jail plus a fine. It also creates a “virtual service provider” license, which is to be requested by digital asset companies, including exchanges and trading intermediaries.

Digital assets that are considered securities, according to the new regulations, will be supervised by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM). Those that do not fall into that category (to be determined) will be overseen by another yet-to-be-created body.

Companies will have 180 days to adapt to the new rules after the approval on Thursday.

This article was translated by Andrés Engler and edited by CoinDesk. The original Portuguese article can be found here.