The draft project, introduced by Representative Shirley Rivera to the Guatemalan Congress, establishes several rules aimed at positioning Guatemala at the forefront of cryptocurrency regulation. The bill provides tax exemptions for personal transactions and regulates the voluntary use of crypto for payments.
Bill Regulating Cryptocurrency Payments Proposed Before Guatemalan Congress
Increasingly, countries are rushing to establish clear cryptocurrency regulatory frameworks to avoid being left behind in this area. Representative Shirley Rivera recently introduced a cryptocurrency bill into the Guatemalan Congress that seeks to clarify the rules that citizens and companies must follow to leverage these tools.
The draft, which contains 15 articles, considers crypto assets as tools for increasing financial inclusion and calls on the state to innovate and promote their use. One of the articles proposes that cryptocurrency may be voluntarily used in transactions even when it is not recognized as legal tender.
“Cryptocurrencies will not be legal tender, but may be used for legitimate transactions in the public and private spheres,” it stresses, recognizing cryptocurrency’s payment use case.
Furthermore, the document establishes that both wallets and crypto exchanges will be under the jurisdiction of the Superintendence of Banks (SIB) and must register with the institution to operate legally.
Cryptocurrency transactions will be exempt from paying capital gains taxes as long as they are used to pay for goods or services that can also be priced in crypto, or as a savings vehicle. Commercial transactions would be taxed.
The introduction of this project marks an acceleration of the emergence of crypto in the Latin American country, as traditional financial institutions begin using crypto to fulfill several roles behind the scenes. For example, Banco Industrial, the largest bank in Guatemala, recently introduced a crypto-based service to facilitate remittances through its mobile app.
In January, the Central Bank of Guatemala clarified that under current regulations, cryptocurrency assets are not considered money in the country, and highlighted the legal tender status of the Guatemalan quetzal. At the time, Central Bank President Álvaro González Ricci stressed that cryptocurrencies were considered investment assets.
Read more: Largest Bank in Guatemala Turns to Crypto for Remittances
