Mauricio Tovar, a leading figure in Colombia’s Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency ecosystem, has criticized Gustavo Petro’s government for moving ahead with legislation in this area without formally inviting the industry and keeping its contents secret.
The trigger was the publication of local media detailing that the text of a comprehensive regulatory framework for domestic digital assets was in the hands of the Ministry of Finance. can be added The bill is ready to be introduced in ParliamentHowever, due to other priorities, no date has been set.
The industry has been exploring appropriate regulation discussions since 2019, supporting legislative initiatives led by legislators such as Maurico Toro and Julian López, among others. This effort was met with opposition from Republic Bank and the regime government.
Mauricio Tovar.
Mr. Tovar adds contradiction to Colombia’s digital asset regulatory process. This comes as the same authority, which had previously opposed proposals put forward by the industry to regulate the sector, They’ve been secretly preparing their own bill for over a year now.working on closed technical tables between state agencies.
Government authorities interpret this situation as a deliberate exclusion of actors who operate directly within the ecosystem and seek transparency and cooperation to achieve balanced regulation.
As such, Tovar is concerned that the project arose on the basis of a technical table of the Financial System Oversight and Coordination Committee, which also has participants. Excluding public institutions such as Banco de la RepúblicaDepartment of the Treasury and Office of Financial Supervisors. This led to proposals for regulations that took a “restrictive” approach.
What the central bank really wants is to gain powers it doesn’t currently have in order to “regulate” (actually, even thwart) Colombia’s crypto industry.
Mauricio Tovar.
The proposed framework defines virtual currencies, stablecoins, and tokens as representations of assets. “It does not fully fulfill the function of money, but rather as an expression of assets,” explained Andres Murcia, Deputy Director of Currency and International Investments at Banco Repubblica, as presented by Valora Analik.
Tovar now suggests an open conversation. Full text disclosure and constructive dialogue Collaborate between authorities and the private sector for economic and social development.
As previously reported by CriptoNoticias, Colombian banks are preparing for the CAMP 2026 conference to be held in Cartagena de Indias on March 5th and 6th. The event, which brings together key players from the financial sector, will discuss the regulatory framework for digital assets in the local industry, and the BitGo exchange will also be present at the event, although it is unclear whether there will be other guests from the sector.