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FinTechs belonging to this category offer financial services using crypto currencies. This category also includes FinTechs utilising blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) upon which Bitcoin and Ethereum are based, among others. FinTechs develop and do research in this field in order to create new services – e.g. crypto currency exchange markets, wallet providers, NFTs-related services, new payment services, "smart contracts" or new clearing and settling services.
Introduction
Attitude of the country towards financial services using crypto currencies
Uruguay does not yet have any specific cryptocurrencies’ regulations in place; neither addressing the cryptocurrencies itself, nor the entities providing services or commercializing cryptocurrencies nor tax-related regulations. Because of this, the Uruguayan political system began to study the possibility of implementing a regulation of virtual assets. In September 2021 a draft bill was submitted to the Uruguay Congress that seeks to regulate the production and commercialization of virtual assets. Furthermore, on October 1st, 2019 , another draft bill was submitted to Parliament which seeks to create a minimum legal framework giving the CBU the power to regulate crypto assets in their various forms, including cryptocurrencies and crypto tokens, following the principles set forth in the Project.
Finally, the CBU has created an Innovation Office within the CBU which is analysing, among other things, the different aspects or issues of the virtual assets and the convenience or not to regulate them. This office has published a Conceptual Guideline for the Regulatory Treatment of Virtual Assets in Uruguay , which seeks to provide a conceptual framework aimed at understanding and categorizing the different instruments and their operations, in order to contribute to the analysis of a regulatory approach for virtual assets.
Legal affairs
Obligations and requirements to provide financial services using crypto currencies described above
Uruguay does not have any specific cryptocurrency regulations in place; neither regulating the cryptocurrencies in itself, nor the entities providing services or commercializing cryptocurrencies nor tax-related regulations.
In particular, we note that the issuance and commercialization of cryptocurrencies as of today is a non-regulated activity.
Further, the CBU defines virtual assets very broadly, as follows: "the digital representation of value or contractual rights that can be stored, transferred and traded electronically through distributed ledger technologies (DLT) or similar". In addition, the CBU recognizes that cryptocurrencies are not considered as legal tender, such as the Uruguayan peso is, as they are not issued or are backed by any Central Bank.
Moreover, in August 2021 the Tax Authority (“Dirección General Impositiva”) ruled on the first real estate transaction with cryptocurrencies in Uruguay, through Consultation No. 6.419 where the Tax Authority sides with the CBU's position by understanding that cryptocurrencies do not clearly meet the conditions to be considered as money or electronic money. The Tax Authority concluded that the transaction should be considered as a swap and not as a purchase and sale, since as the cryptocurrency is not “money” (i.e.: fiat currency), it should be considered as an intangible asset, which is exchanged for a real estate asset.
Therefore, and in line with the above, the CBU has warned the general public that those who use the services of such service providers are not covered by the financial user protection measures which, in turn, do apply to other entities regulated and supervised by the CBU. However, even though the virtual assets and the issuance and commercialization activ