Brazilian judges have been authorized to enter the assets of the cryptocurrencies of debtors who owe money and who are late on their payments, signaling increasing recognition that digital assets can be both a form of payment and a reserve of value.
According to local media, the third panel of judges of the Superior Court of Justice of Brazil unanimously authorized the judges to send letters to the cryptocurrency brokers informing them of their intention to enter the assets of an account holder to reimburse the creditors.
The report was confirmed by the Court of Higher Justice, which published an opinion on its website.
The decision was made unanimously by the third panel, who examined a case presented by a creditor.
“Although they are not legal, cryptographic assets can be used as a form of payment and as a reserve of value”, indicates a translated version of the memo of the Superior Court of Justice.
Source: Stjnotias
Under the existing rules, Brazilian judges are authorized to freeze bank accounts and to command fundraising, even without the shortage of the debtor, if they rose that a creditor owes money.
Following the recent decision, cryptographic assets are now the same field.
Minister Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva, who voted in the panel of five people, said that cryptocurrencies still lacking in formal regulation in Brazil, but that certain bills have recognized the asset class as “a digital representation of value”.
In relation: The Brazil data watchdog confirms the ban on global cryptography payments
Despite regulatory uncertainty, Brazil is a major center for crypto
Although Brazil still lacks a global framework for digital assets, the country’s central bank dividing regulatory processes in phases, the adoption of cryptography increases across the country.
Brazil ranks second among all the countries of Latin America in terms of “cryptographic value received”, which is a key reference for adoption, according to a Chainalysis report.
In Latin America, only Argentina has higher cryptography penetration in terms of value received in June 2024. Source: Chain-analysis
Earlier this year, Crypto Exchange Binance obtained approval to operate in the country after acquiring an investment company based in São Paulo.
A Binance leader told Cointelegraph at the time that Brazil made “significant progress” in industry regulations and expects a complete framework to be finalized “by the middle of the year”.
However, all of Brazil’s regulatory proposals have not been favorable to industry.
In December, the country’s central bank proposed to prohibit stablecoin transactions on auto-us wallets at a time when more premises used tokens pointed out in dollars to cover itself against the devaluation of the real Brazilian.
Industry observers told Cointelegraph at the time that such a ban would be difficult to apply.
“Governments can regulate centralized exchanges, but P2P transactions and decentralized platforms are much more difficult to control, which means that the prohibition would probably affect only part of the ecosystem,” said Lucien Bourdon, analyst at Trezor.
In relation: The Brazilian legislator presents that Bill regulates the salaries of Bitcoin
