Bitcoin exchanges may open bank accounts in Colombia in 2022

Key facts:

The head of the banking regulator briefly referred to the state of the regulatory sandbox in Colombia.

The pilot tests are expected to be completed at the end of March 2022.

The head of the Financial Superintendence of Colombia, Jorge Castaño, expects that, by the end of March 2022, the selected cryptocurrency exchanges will be able to open accounts in Colombian banks. The statement emerged this Thursday, November 4, during its participation in the 55th Banking Convention, as reported by the local portal, Semana.

The date coincides with the completion of the pilot tests to regularize transactions with crypto assets, which the financial authority started in March of this year. In the process, which was disclosed under the name of “regulatory sandbox”, 8 Colombian banking institutions and 8 cryptocurrency exchanges participate, as reported by . in a timely manner.

The participants in the project are Banco de Bogotá in association with Bitso and Buda; Bancolombia associated with Gemini; Coltefinanciera with Obsidiam; Davivienda and Powwi working together with Binance; Coink with Banexcoin; and finally Movii, in association with Panda and Bitpoint.

During his speech at the aforementioned convention, organized by the Colombian Banking Association, Jorge Castaño underlined the importance of the cryptoassets pilot program. As he explained, the tests will allow Colombians to invest in cryptocurrencies with fiat money from their bank accounts using crypto-asset exchange platforms, and vice versa.

Jorge Castaño, financial superintendent of Colombia, said at the 55th Banking Convention that the pilot tests of crypto assets will allow Colombians to interact with exchages from their bank. Source: Twitter

At the beginning of last May, an official of the Superfinancial by name Laura Clavijo, explained in an online forum that the regulatory sandbox seeks greater inclusion in the financial system, based on cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Since the launch of the program, the regulatory authority set out to create a controlled space where commercial banks could test services associated with cryptocurrency exchanges.

The financial superintendent acknowledged that have achieved great learning in the process, which is scheduled to extend for one year. Likewise, it hopes that, upon completion of the testing phase, the regulator will be able to select the appropriate associations to provide crypto-asset exchange services in Colombia.