A new crypto bill project has been put forward by the executive power to the Parliament of Uruguay. 

The aim of the bill is to clarify how cryptocurrencies will be regulated within the country, and if approved, will be the first to address the areas in which crypto exchanges and virtual asset service providers operate in Uruguay. 

The bill proposes a modification to the Central Bank of Uruguay’s organic charter and launches the Superintendence of Financial Services to oversee the activities of virtual asset service providers.  

The proposed bill sets out that custody providers and third parties that lend financial services in relation to the offer or sale of a virtual asset, will be deemed part of this class, .com reports. 

However, in addition, the bill introduces a so-called “virtual asset issuer,” class, which is defined as a platform that issues any type of virtual asset within the regulations or calls for the admission of regulated virtual assets on a virtual asset trading platform, the report adds. 

Similar to other projects that have institutions as the principal crypto watchdogs, the bill suggests the country’s central bank would supervise all such tasks.

According to the bill: “With the proposed modifications, both the previously regulated subjects and the newly incorporated entities that operate with virtual assets will be subject to the supervision and control powers of the Central Bank of Uruguay.”

Furthermore, the text refers to virtual asset securities, the digital equivalents of financial securities, the Bitcoin.com report adds.

There have previously been attempts to legalise crypto as a means of payment in Uruguay, such as the crypto bill proposed in 2021 by Senator Juan Sartori. In addition, in August, the country’s central bank issued a summons to the Binance exchange due to its offering of savings-oriented crypto-based financial products.