Argentina Crypto Exchanges Forced to Obtain Operating Permits

Argentina’s top financial regulator says crypto exchanges must apply for operating permits, in a move that will apply to both “individuals and legal entities.”

Per a Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) ruling, vendors who sell crypto in the country must now sign up to the “Virtual Asset Service Providers Registry (PSAV).”

Argentina Crypto Exchanges – New Regulation

The new ruling applies not only to Argentine citizens, but also applies to foreigners who trade cryptocurrencies in the country.

The CVM will require all vendors to provide it with their full names and dates of birth. They must also provide their addresses, tax codes, and telephone numbers.

Vendors must also provide the regulator with their website addresses if applicable, as well as their usernames on social media networks.

Successfully applicants will then have to add details to their website or social media pages to inform visitors of their CVM registration numbers.

The document explains that companies and private vendors will have up to 45 days to comply with the new rules.

The rules will come into force after they are published in the Legal Gazette (Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina).

The move comes just days after the Argentinian government decreed that domestic companies can buy, accept, and hold crypto.

Earlier this year, top Argentinian regulators met with their counterparts from El Salvador to discuss the latter’s Bitcoin (BTC) adoption.

The CVM’s ruling contained a definition of “virtual assets.” It called them “digital representations of value that can be traded and/or transferred digitally and used for payments or investments.

Argentina looks to tame crypto market as money-laundering fears draw scrutiny https://t.co/eees2tagaQ pic.twitter.com/mmlSNSAd0D

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 18, 2024

FATF Driving Regulatory Change?

The regulator wrote that it was responding to a recommendation from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This follows the latter’s most recent evaluation. The CVM wrote:

“[The new rules will help] the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, with regard to the adaptation of new technology.”

The body added that the measures were a “consequence of the growth of transactions with virtual assets.”

Overseas exchanges will also need to obtain permits if:

• They target Argentine trade by using “.ar” URLs
• Have Argentina-based subsidiaries or third-party partners
• Have Argentina-based offices

The rules also apply if 20% or more of an overseas trading platform’s trading volume originates from Argentina, the CNV said.

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— Bloomberg Economics (@economics) July 19, 2024

It does not seem that the new rules will not apply to small-scale crypto traders or peer-to-peer vendors.

Companies and individuals who do not exceed 35,000 units of purchasing power (UVA) will be exempted, the document’s authors noted.

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