Colombia’s financial regulator, the Financial Superintendence of Colombia, has introduced a set of draft rules for the crypto industry. It includes suggestions about risk management systems for money laundering and terrorism financing, tracing of transactions, and general cybersecurity guidelines.
With growing interest in the crypto asset class, the Colombian government looking to regulate the crypto industry doesn’t come as a surprise. Associated authorities want to protect and safeguard investors and ensure that no illicit activities are facilitated using crypto.
Cryptocurrencies are still in the very early stages in Colombia but their popularity is growing fast. Data shows that 6.1% of Colombians own crypto. Moreover, it ranked fourth in the world in terms of peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading volume, and 80% of Colombians are willing to invest in crypto. As such, Colombia has launched a regulatory sandbox to help with the regulation process and implementation of the technology. Crypto adoption can be seen through a food delivery app that accepts payment in crypto. It shows that a business might consider it. Colombians also attribute the increase in crypto adoption to Bitso launching its app in the country.
If the draft rules are approved, Colombia’s crypto market will face a tremendous amount of regulation. Governments across the world want to regulate this growing asset class. The most recent example is the G20 summit where participating countries affirmed the need for cross-border coordination and stablecoin regulation following the collapse of Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin. In fact, stablecoins has become a concern for governments and some are citing Terra to reemphasize the need for control.
