Brazilian lawmakers seek to add crypto to debtors’ protected assets list

Cryptocurrencies may become a part of the personal savings category, protected from seizures on behalf of creditors.

As Brazilian lawmakers discuss a bill that would grant strong protection to a sizable portion of the savings assets of debtors, a separate initiative is seeking to include crypto in the latest version of the bill.

Bill 4.420/2021, authored by Deputy Carlos Bezerra, is currently being considered by the Committee on the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship in the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of Brazil. Amending the Code of Civil Procedure, issued in 2015, it aims to protect the private savings of individuals up to an amount equal to 40 minimum wages from potential seizure on behalf of their creditors.

On Sept. 15, the bill’s rapporteur, Deputy Felipe Francischini, officially confirmed its agreement with a recent amendment suggestion from Deputy Fernando Marangoni to include crypto assets in the list of protected funds. According to Francischini’s note:

“Nowadays, people’s investment behavior changed, with the traditional savings account losing ground to other forms of financial investment.”

Such inclusion became possible after the Brazilian crypto framework was enacted in June 2023. The current amendment refers to this framework, defining virtual assets as “digital representations of value that can be traded or transferred via electronic means and used for making payments or investments.”

Meanwhile, in August, a Brazilian congressional committee approved amendments to a bill to raise taxes on cryptocurrencies held overseas.

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