Ecuador Central Bank Could Start Regulating Cryptocurrencies

The Ecuador central bank could soon start regulating cryptocurrencies and according to the manager of the bank Guillermo Avellan, this will bring even more clarity to the crypto sector in the country and will contribute to preventing money laundering so let’s read further into today’s latest cryptocurrency news.

The Central Bank of Ecuador is planning to prepare and to issue crypto-related regulations this ear and the announcement was made by the bank’s manager Guillermo Avellan in an interview where he was asked about the state of crypto regulation of the country and how it is falling behind other countries in the region. Avellan noted that the Ecuador central bank could start regulating crypto by the end of this year and also said that the Monetary code establishes that the dollar is the only legal tender in the country.

Avellan explained that the new regulation will not make BTC or any other crypto legal tender as it happened with El Salvador when they approved Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country due to the volatility associated with the assets. The price however of regulation will be directed at bringing more clarity to the status of crypto in the country. Apart from these factors, another reason to issue the regulation for crypto is the worries that the government has about the illegal use of these assets. Avellan stated that with the regulation in place, the banks will be able to establish limits on how the toles are being leveraged. There have been many cases of actors using crypto for money laundering purposes and these regulations will be directed at fighting such instances.

While the government issued a ban on BTC back in 2014 and launched a digital token called Dinero Electronico, the crypto usage in the country continued to grow. The population is still largely unbanked and 50% of the people have no access to bank accounts according to Avellan’s estimates. While he didn’t quite give out specific dates fro establishments of the regulation, Avellan did offer a few estimates and noted:

“We are going to work in the first quarter of 2022 so that it can be reviewed and approved between the second and third quarters of the year by the Monetary Board.”