Argentine Central Bank Asks Local Banks for Information on Customers Who Deal With Cryptocurrencies

As cryptocurrencies keep gaining adoption in Argentina, there are discussions on how the national regulatory bodies should regulate the industry. The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) seems to have taken a step forward in making the picture clearer.

According to reports, the BCRA asked domestic banks to forward them information about its customers who deal with bitcoin (BTC) and perform any other kind of crypto transactions.

The measure aims to evaluate whether the crypto market “should be required for an even bigger regulation or not.” Citing sources inside the central bank, Infobae details that the BCRA has sent an internal mail to the associated banks, requesting them the following data:

Information that allows identifying customers who have accounts for holding crypto assets or who have declared or are known to carry out purchase and/or sale cooperation and/or management of payments through/of crypto assets.

That said, the Argentinean central bank backs up its decision by saying that they have “functions of supervising” domestic payment systems.

Inside the email, the BCRA asks for the national identification numbers, home address, and account types of the individuals involved in crypto-related transactions. Moreover, the measure covers the bank accounts used exclusively to trade with cryptocurrencies.

The central bank issued the following statement about the matter: As part of the process, the banks were consulted to determine the volume and depth of the use or purchase of crypto assets. It is a common practice to ask banks for information on different topics of interest before proceeding with the elaboration of regulations.

Infobae claims that experts consulted by them have mixed opinions about the BCRA’s measure, with some considering it as a correct move, according to Ignacio Carballo, director of the Fintech Ecosystem of the University Católica Argentina:

The global phenomenon of cryptocurrencies, together with its benefits and potential risks for economic systems, is something that is currently being debated in all global organizations and forums. Since the genesis of every financial regulator must be to make decisions based on evidence, the study and proper monitoring of the crypto world becomes fundamental, just as the BCRA would be doing.