Brazil Gives Investment Funds Green Light to [Indirectly] Buy Bitcoin

Brazil’s securities regulator, Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), has reportedly authorized investment funds to indirectly put their money in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, through the acquisition of derivatives and foreign funds. According to a circular issued by the Finance Ministry of Brazil, first spotted by local news outlet Portal do bitcoin, funds can also invest in “other assets” traded in other jurisdictions, as long as these are regulated where they’re traded.Per the news outlet, this means investment funds can now purchase share in a foreign fund whose portfolio consists mainly of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin.The Ministry of Finance’s circular points out there’s room for fraud. Money laundering or other illicit activities exist in the space and, as such, funds should invest in cryptocurrency products through regulated exchanges. These platforms, it adds, should be subjected to “the supervision of regulatory agencies that have powers to restrain such illegal practices.”

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