Honduras’ banking regulator the Nationwide Banking and Securities Fee, or CNBS, has introduced a right away ban that prohibits establishments from buying and selling crypto.
The banking regulator reached the decision on Monday and cites fraud and cash laundering amongst causes for the transfer, Reuters reported.
Honduras’ Nationwide Banking and Securities Fee, or CNBS, has banned establishments beneath its regulatory purview from buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
The banking regulator introduced the measure this week, Reuters reported on Friday.
Based on the report, the CNBS’ decision got here into impact instantly, with the Central American nation citing use of digital property in fraud and cash laundering as key dangers and the explanations for the ban.
On this case, no establishment supervised by the regulator can maintain, intermediate, commerce or put money into crypto tokens or such different unauthorized digital property.
Crypto fraud and cash laundering
Whereas noting that there are a number of crypto platforms providing companies within the nation, Honduras doesn’t regulate these entities. With most domiciled in numerous elements of the world, the Honduran legislation doesn’t management their operations, and that there’s the chance of such firms facilitating fraud, cash laundering and terrorism financing.
The regulatory watchdog reached the decision to ban all establishments beneath its purview from crypto buying and selling on Monday, February 12, Reuters famous. Nevertheless, the transfer solely grew to become public on February 16.
The transfer comes amid a common strengthening of crypto regulation throughout the globe, with governments working with worldwide our bodies corresponding to FATF to assist streamline legal guidelines for the sector.
However notably, the Honduras Prospera zone – Próspera Zone for Employment and Financial Improvement (ZEDE) – formally acknowledged Bitcoin as a unit of account early this yr. In July 2022, the group product of Blockchain Honduras, Coincaex crypto trade and the Technological College of Honduras unveiled the “Bitcoin Valley ” in the Honduran municipality of Santa Lucia.