Argentina Announces Mandatory Registry for Bitcoin and Crypto Trading

The Argentine government is calling on all domestic crypto companies to register with the new regulatory body or cease operations entirely.

In the year On March 14, the nation's Senate passed legislation authorizing a registry of virtual asset service providers based on recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force.

More regulation in Argentina?

Argentina's National Securities Commission (CNV) announced the creation of the registry on March 26, whose regulations are required to “identify human and legal entities that provide services related to crypto-assets in the country.”

This includes businesses that allow customers to buy, sell, trade, lend, send or receive goods.

The president of the CNV, Roberto Isilva, said on the matter: “Those who are not registered cannot work in the country.”

The goal is to comply with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws, a primary objective among crypto watchdogs in the United States and elsewhere.

However, many crypto leaders are surprised to see a strong pillar of regulatory direction from Argentina – a country whose new leader, Javier Milieu, is a small-government libertarian.

“Javier Milei is going the exact opposite of what is expected of a ‘pro-Bitcoin' libertarian,” BullBitcoin CEO Francis Pouliot tweeted on Sunday. “I actually find this very confusing and out of character.”

The crypto industry was quick to see Miley as an ally, with both parties identifying the central bank as a common enemy. While the politician did not openly support any of Bitcoin's pro-Bitcoin policies, the politician called the emergence of Bitcoin “returning money to its original creator, the private sector.”

Bitcoin as a currency

While strict AML rules around crypto aren't uncommon today, Money On Chain protocol founder Manuel Ferrari says creating a registry for Bitcoin exchange platforms is a “terrible idea.”

“Bitcoin is money, not security,” he told Forbes in an interview. “It is as wrong as the fact that shops that sell currency or gold in dollars or euros must be registered with the CNV. It is absolutely useless.

Since December, Argentina's foreign minister has confirmed that the country has scrapped the country's legal tender laws, banning contracts and payments in any chosen currency – including bitcoin.

As the price of the digital currency reached a new high of over $70,000, many citizens of the country began to flee to Bitcoin. Meanwhile, the Argentine peso continues to lose value rapidly, boasting an annual inflation rate of 276 percent since February.