Similar to El Salvador, neighboring Brazil may soon use bitcoin as a currency. This is according to Federal Representative Oiro Ribeiro, who said Brazilians would be able to buy homes, cars and McDonald’s with the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
This is possible thanks to the departure Draft Law No. 2.303/15 last Wednesday, which seeks to provide a legal framework for virtual currencies. But the bill faces a final obstacle in passing it before the plenary session of the House of Representatives (Camara dos Depotados) in the coming days.
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of Brazil’s National Congress, and it consists of 513 members who are elected every four years. The plenary is the first body in the House, where deputies meet to discuss and vote on proposals.
Ribeiro said Brazil needs this to formalize the use of cryptocurrency and attract foreign investment. The result will see Bitcoin used in daily transactions.
“We want to separate the wheat from the chaff, make regulations so that you can trade, know where to buy, know who you’re dealing with, get that asset to buy a house, or a car, or go to McDonald’s to buy a hamburger, it’s going to be a currency in the country as it happens in other countries. “
According to Ribeiro, the proposal has strong support in the Chamber of Deputies, and he sees few obstacles to its approval.
Strong Bitcoin Support in Brazil
A recent survey by Sherlock Communications found that nearly half of respondents believe that Bitcoin should be legal tender.
The study questioned 2,700 over-18s from seven Latin American countries: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Venezuela and Mexico.
It found that 48% of Brazilians believe their country should adopt bitcoin, with 31% agreeing and 17% strongly agreeing with this statement.
“Brazilians have been the biggest proponents of bitcoin recognition in the region, with 56% supporting El Salvador’s approach and 48% saying they want Brazil to embrace it as well.”
Researchers have discovered that 55% of Brazilians invest in Bitcoin in order to diversify. By comparison, 39% said they do so to protect against inflation and economic instability.
Civil unrest in Brazil
Since February, Brazil’s inflation rate has seen consecutive increases on a monthly basis, with the latest August figure being just shy of double digits at 9.68%.
In response, the central bank has raised interest rates five times this year, with some analysts calling for higher rates based on the belief that current measures are not nearly enough to address the surging rates.
Last weekend saw tens of thousands of demonstrators who demanded the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro. They blamed President Bolsonaro for high unemployment and widespread hunger among the population.
With the construction of civil unrest, Bill 2.303/15, though irregular in the grand scheme of things, may see implementation on the back of politicians fighting to save their political lives.
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