Colombian government has given green signal for a trial program to test crypto transactions by companies by the beginning of next year, using the regulatory sandbox endorsed by the country’s financial regulator.
While conducting a discussion on the title “Overview of the Regulation of Crypto Assets in Colombia,” Jorge Castaño, head of Colombia’s Financial Superintendence (SFC), disclosed that firms interested in testing cryptocurrency dealings should submit their interest by the end of this year, as the trial will begin next year.
The latest regulatory sandbox was acknowledged by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit. The SFC detailed on the sandbox as follows:
“This space allows the SFC to maintain a balance between adequate regulation aimed at carrying out comprehensive supervision of the entities under surveillance, the prevention of crisis situations, the illegal exercise of financial activity and the promotion and support of new technological advances applied to financial services.”
Mauricio Toro, a local congressman who drafted bill led the discussion. The bill intends to govern the crypto sector in Colombia. Castaño informed Toro that the trial will involve five stages, namely application, selection, structuring, monitoring and feedback.
Even though there is precise schedule for the trial program to be conducted next year, the chief of SFC informed that “four Colombian financial services providers” have conveyed their willingness to take part in the pilot program.
A format of the bill to govern cryptocurrency exchanges in Colombia was tabled on April 4, 2019. The primary objective of the bill was to give a general guideline of how cryptocurrency exchanges should function in the country.
The discussion surrounding the bill’s clearance has been postponed due to bureaucracy, for instance waiting for unambiguous decision of the SFC towards cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, with the roll out of the trail program, Congressman Toro believes that the discussions could proceed quickly leading to the endorsement of the bill in 2022.
