Brazil’s Oldest Bank Now Allows Citizens To Pay Taxes With Crypto

February 12, 2023 11:15 am Comments

The country of Brazil has always been one of the most welcoming regions when it comes to crypto adoption and creating a regulatory environment that encourages growth.

Just recently, the oldest bank in Brazil, Banco do Brasil, just announced that it would be possible for taxpayers to pay their taxes with crypto.

This would be made possible through a partnership with a crypto firm called Bitfy and allows citizens to broaden the use cases for their digital assets.

In a sense, it makes the asset pretty close to being “legal tender” in the aspect that it can be used for official government use cases.

Of course, the country has still not declared Bitcoin legal tender in the same way that El Salvador has, but the rest of the South America region may one day follow El Salvador’s route.

CoinTelegraph reports:

It is available to Brazilians with crypto under the custody of Bitfy, which will act as a “collection partner” for the major Brazilian bank.

It noted that besides the convenience it brings to customers, it could “expand” the use and access to the digital asset ecosystem with “national coverage” while having the comfort of a reputable bank providing consumer protection.

Lucas Schoch, Bitfy’s founder and CEO, added that the “new digital economy is a catalyst for a future full of advantages.”

The statement said crypto users would experience a straightforward process, with the tax details displayed along with the amount of reals, the official currency of Brazil, that should be converted into the chosen cryptocurrency to pay the bill.

The move to start accepting crypto for tax payments is not a new idea and multiple cities within the region have previously pioneered that idea.

However, the fact that one of the largest and oldest banks in the country adopting this idea gives much more credibility to the crypto industry and removes the conception that digital assets are just speculative assets that provide no value.

The bank deciding to do this after the pro-crypto regulatory framework that passed in December of last year also shows the speed of adoption that is taking place.

After all, it has only been two months since the legal framework has existed and large financial institutions are already coming onboard.

Investors and speculators believe the region to further expand this use case and make it much more convenient for residents to pay their taxes.

Bitcoinist concludes:

The introduction of this technology only stamps the Bank of Brazil’s position as a leading force in modern financial solutions. In addition to providing a convenient and easily accessible tax payment method to citizens, the successful adoption of this initiative could possibly transform the banking landscape.

It is also worth noting that the Bank of Brazil’s contract with Bitfy also allows all partners – fintech, financial institutions – of the state-owned bank to extend similar tax payment options to their customers based on existing agreements between BB and certain public service agencies.

Commenting on this fascinating development, the founder and CEO of Bitfy said, “the new digital economy is the catalyst for a future full of advantages. This partnership makes it possible to expand the use and access to the ecosystem of digital assets with national coverage and with the seal of security and reliability of Banco do Brasil.”

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