El Salvador’s central bank accepts Qredo's registration to provide crypto services

Published at: May 5, 2022

Decentralized finance firm Qredo has received approval for registration as a Bitcoin (BTC) service provider in El Salvador.

In a Wednesday announcement, Qredo said the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador accepted the crypto firm's registration as a recognized Bitcoin service provider as laid out in the country’s Bitcoin Law. According to the registration website, Qredo was authorized to custody BTC, provide Bitcoin wallets, process payments and act as a digital asset exchange.

HOT OFF THE PRESS#ElSalvador's Central Bank has approved Qredo to offer a range of Bitcoin servicesQredo is the country's only #dMPC custody providerSuch an important step in the wider adoption of Qredo infrastructure by local institutionshttps://t.co/Nh0np2Ok0K pic.twitter.com/5YKP3IRGna

— Qredo (@QredoNetwork) May 4, 2022

As a crypto service provider, Qredo said it was required to be in compliance with local laws and international practices around digital assets as well as risk management to prevent losses or theft. Other registered providers in El Salvador include Chivo, the firm behind the state-issued crypto wallets and kiosks — similar to Bitcoin ATMs — as well as Paxos Trust Company, Paxful and Bitcoin payment processor OpenNode.

“The BCR’s decision opens the door to further opportunity for Qredo in El Salvador, and increases our footprint in Latin America — a region we believe has enormous potential for digital assets,” said Qredo CEO Anthony Foy.

A survey from the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce reported in March suggested that 14% of local businesses had transacted using BTC since the Bitcoin Law went into effect in September 2021. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has continued to push crypto-related initiatives in the country including a Bitcoin City backed by $1 billion in BTC bonds, using geothermal energy from volcanoes to mine crypto and announcing major buys on social media. As of January, the head of state had purchased 1,801 BTC.

2022 predictions on #Bitcoin:•Will reach $100k•2 more countries will adopt it as legal tender•Will become a major electoral issue in US elections this year•Bitcoin City will commence construction•Volcano bonds will be oversubscribed•Huge surprise at @TheBitcoinConf

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 2, 2022

Related: El Salvador Bitcoin wallet shows ‘strong sign of adoption,’ exec says

With roughly 6.5 million residents, El Salvador is one of the most crypto-friendly parts of Latin America, but the actions of governments in neighboring countries have suggested some may be on the way to taking the orange pill. In April, Panama's legislature approved a cryptocurrency law aimed at making the country “compatible with the digital economy, blockchain, crypto assets and the internet.” Brazil’s senate followed by approving its own Bitcoin Law to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies

Tags
Regulation
Cryptocurrencies
Government
Central Bank
El Salvador
Related Posts
Unqualified investors can buy up to $8K of crypto, says Bank of Russia
The central bank of Russia proposed to set limits on annual cryptocurrency investments by non-professional investors. The Bank of Russia suggested that unqualified investors in Russia should not be allowed to invest more than 600,000 Russian rubles ($7,800) in digital assets per year. The authority laid out the new proposal in an explanatory note referring to Russia’s newly passed crypto law, “On Digital Financial Assets,” or DFA. The official statement stipulates that the new regulatory restriction will involve not only digital financial assets but also “other digital rights”: “Individuals representing unqualified investors will have a limit on the amount of …
Regulation / Oct. 14, 2020
Ukraine is prepared to lead Eastern Europe’s crypto space
Ukraine is ranked as the world’s leader in the Global Crypto Adoption Index 2020, according to a research published by Chainalysis earlier this fall. Despite this, cryptocurrencies still remain a gray area in the economy. Since 2014, Ukrainian authorities have been trying to implement crypto legislation that would transform the country into a competitive jurisdiction for running crypto-related businesses, but the efforts did not yield any results. Finally, just a few months ago, the Ukranian government presented a new bill on digital assets to legitimize the sector — and this time, the attempt may well be successful. The fintech strategy …
Adoption / Nov. 15, 2020
China and US Must Learn From One Another and Collaborate on CBDC
Today, the relationship between China and the United States is one of escalating competition. On Oct. 23, 2019, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Libra. Zuckerberg and members of Congress had much to disagree on. One consensus that did emerge, however, was concern regarding China’s digital currency project. Zuckerberg noted: “While we debate these issues, the rest of the world isn’t waiting. China is moving quickly to launch similar ideas in the coming months.” Building on this, the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy recently discussed the need …
Blockchain / July 28, 2020
Crypto makes history in 2021: Five instances of governments embracing digital assets
As digital asset prices had been hitting new historical highs in 2021, many jurisdictions were increasingly adopting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto-based instruments. In addition to Bitcoin crossing $68,000 for the first time since inception, the year of 2021 will be remembered for Bitcoin’s historical adoption as legal tender in El Salvador. The world’s first-ever Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) was also inaugurated in 2021, alongside many other benign regulatory developments around the world. As we glance back at notable global regulatory moments in 2021, Cointelegraph has picked some of the most memorable instances of friendly crypto regulation. 1. …
Etf / Dec. 29, 2021
CBDC activity heats up, but few projects move beyond pilot stage
Government-issued electronic currency seems to be an idea whose time has come. “More than half of the world’s central banks are now developing digital currencies or running concrete experiments on them,” reported the Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, in early May — something that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. The BIS also found that nine out of ten central banks were exploring central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, in some form or other, according to its survey of 81 central banks conducted last autumn but just published. Many were taken aback by the progress. “It …
Adoption / May 16, 2022