As Venezuela escalates its adoption of cryptocurrencies, today’s talk of expanding services such as USDT, Crixto, and Kontigo, for example, has been preceded by advances in regulation of how digital assets are tax-filed and setbacks in halting Bitcoin (BTC) mining.
This back-and-forth related to digital assets, while not actually taking place, today marks a new chapter in the possibilities it opens up. how is that Venezuelan banking may approach cryptocurrencies directly. Although the discussion is still in its infancy, there is no doubt that it is an intriguing topic.
The discussion began when Rodolfo Gaspari, president of Conexus, a company specializing in processing electronic transactions, revealed that his organization was working on a platform that would allow national banks to operate with digital assets. However, this is based on the fact that in Venezuela there are still no regulations on this issue.
Against this panorama, voices such as economist Asdrubal Oliveros highlight the large-scale implementation of USDT in Venezuela and its impact. Possible collaboration with banks relentlessly requires a strong regulatory frameworkallowing you to integrate traditional financial institutions and the world of cryptocurrencies.
Oliveros, managing partner of Econanalítica, is optimistic about Conexus’ efforts to develop blockchain-based applications for banks to store USDT and other cryptocurrencies. However, before that reading, clear rules must be established. When consulted by CriptoNoticias on this point, he commented:
I think it’s interesting that it’s brought up. There are operational challenges, of course, but above all there are regulatory challenges. Banking in Venezuela is highly regulated by not just one organization, but multiple organizations. In this case, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), the Supervision of the Banking Sector (Sudeban), and the National Supervision of Cryptoassets (Sunacrip). First, it has to be regulated.
Asdrubal Oliveros, Venezuelan economist.
Oliveros is among those who believe this niche market should be expanded further to include national banking beyond the services offered by crypto platforms Cryxt and Contigo, which are licensed by the Venezuelan state to operate in the country.
Experts say that expanding this offer to include banks will not only add depth to the ecosystem; Directly benefits users and facilitates more secure access Countries where the USDT already serves as a haven against exchange rate fluctuations can effectively manage their digital assets. But he emphasizes that “first we need to define the regulatory framework.”
This regulatory emphasis resonates with the sandbox proposed by Conexus. The Sandbox is a controlled testing environment overseen by BCV and Sudeban, designed to detect flaws and measure trading volumes for USDT or other digital assets.
However, Oliveros cautions that for more ambitious partnerships, such as those that could occur between exchanges and banks, “regulators have to be willing” because banks cannot act without the explicit consent of these entities.
Regulation is on crypto exchanges, not banks
Multiple regulations regarding digital assets in Venezuela are diverse and include the Constituent Decree on Cryptoassets and Sovereign Petroleum Cryptocurrency, the Constituent Decree on the Comprehensive System of Cryptoassets, fiscal and tax regulations, or the legalization of Bitcoin mining. There are also provisions regarding exchanges and regulations administered by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Beyond these clear legal provisions, current law does not establish a direct link to national financial systems or digital assets. This is something that is also emphasized by Anibal Garrido, professor and director and popularizer of the Academy of Blockchain, Trading and Cryptocurrency at the Universidad Católica de Andres Bello (UCAB).
We look forward to the entire integration process. There are currently less permissive regulations when it comes to integrating banks as active actors, but this is not the case with exchange offices. The news (from Connexus) seems positive to me, but it needs to be evaluated and evaluated in the correct dimensions.
Anibal Garrido, Venezuelan bitcoiner and professor.
According to the academic, Venezuela “cannot implement these processes overnight. They require considerable preparation from a technical point of view.”
Oliveros and Garrido agree that the issue is still in its very early stages. There is still a long way to go before banks can offer crypto services. USDT stablecoin, Bitcoin, etc.
Beyond this reality, the inevitable question arises as to what kinds of services Venezuelan banks can offer using virtual currencies, given the necessary regulations. Garrido replies:
“The types of operations that can be done range from storage to remittances to distributing payments.” For Oliveros, this opens the door to crypto wallet mechanisms, new currency allocation mechanisms, integration with payment mechanisms such as cards, and even stablecoin remittances.
At present, for Venezuelan banks to play a leading role in relation to cryptocurrencies, First we have to go down the regulatory path.this can take months or years, depending on how important this adoption opportunity is in that country.
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Journalist Jesús Herrera contributed to this article from Caracas, Venezuela.
