A proposed addition to an existing Brazilian law would grant Brazilians the right to use cryptocurrency as a means of payment while protecting their private keys from being taken by the courts.
Federal Deputy Paulo Martins issued the proposal to the country’s legislature on Friday. If passed, the bill would expand both the legal uses of cryptocurrency in Brazil and the power the courts would have in confiscating it.
The proposed addition in Article 835 of the Civil Procedure Code states that while crypto assets are not a currency in and of themselves, they could be “used as a financial asset, means of exchange or payment, or instrument of access to goods and services or investment.”
It would not necessarily make Bitcoin or any crypto legal tender in the country. It would instead make crypto a legally recognized financial asset for investments and other uses.
A broad interpretation of the proposal suggests that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ether could be used to pay for goods and services across the country. It could also be used to pay outstanding debts “in the event of offering or forced constriction” of crypto assets.
The proposed additions are still in the initial phase of discussion in the Chamber of Deputies within the country’s legislature. This means that it could take several years before the additions are passed by the Senate and signed into law by the president. By that time, they may have changed drastically.
