Colombia is developing a regulatory framework for the local cryptocurrency industry

Colombia’s government has revealed draft rules for cryptocurrency companies who want to operate in the country, some months after the South American country’s regulatory “Sandbox” project was launched. (This is not to be confused with The Sandbox, a major blockchain-powered metaverse area.)

The public can now comment on the new regulations suggested by Colombia’s financial regulator, the Financial Superintendence of Colombia.

The rules call for a risk management system for money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as cybersecurity requirements and methods for tracing cryptocurrency transactions.

The approach confirms that Colombia is aiming toward a future in which residents can buy cryptocurrency using their standard banking accounts.

Colombia’s “Sandbox” (or LaArenera) is a one-of-a-kind Latin American cryptocurrency experiment that began last year after being approved by the government in 2020. It enables Colombian banks to collaborate with major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Bitso to enable citizens to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets.

Bancolombia, the country’s largest bank, agreed in December to a one-year trial program with New York-based exchange Gemini, allowing a restricted number of clients to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or Bitcoin Cash from their accounts.

In January, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, launched a pilot with Davivienda, Colombia’s third-largest bank, allowing 5,000 of its customers to purchase digital assets.

The project, which was supposed to last a year, involved nine Colombian banks. The “Sandbox” had been moving slowly until November. The program was intended to end in March, but it appears to have been postponed.