/ Regulation of Virtual Financial Assets in the Fintech Law

The Fintech Law governs virtual financial assets and associated services, such as cryptoassets and trading platforms. Learn about the legal requirements and regulations established by the CMF, as well as the registration obligation for fintech companies.

Vicente Guíñez
Associate Attorney
Alessandri Abogados

Law 21,521, known as “Fintech Law”, is the first regulation in our jurisdiction that recognizes and defines virtual financial assets, also known as cryptoassets. These are defined as digital representations of units of value, goods or services, excluding money in national currency or foreign currency, which can be transferred, stored or exchanged digitally.

Although the Fintec Law does not regulate cryptoassets directly, it does establish regulations for services related to these assets, such as Alternative Transaction Systems, Order Routers, Financial Instrument Intermediaries and the Custody of Financial Instruments.

Consequently, activities related to cryptoassets, such as their maintenance, channeling of purchase and sale orders, trading on behalf of third parties and the provision of platforms for their negotiation, must comply with legal requirements and regulations established by the Financial Market Commission (CMF). These requirements address aspects such as information disclosure, operational capacity, corporate governance, risk management, collaterals, capital and suitability.

In addition, fintech companies that offer these services and are not exempted by any legal provision, must be registered in the Registry of Financial Service Providers established by the Fintech Law. By means of General Applicability Rule No. 493, issued by the CMF on February 3, 2023, the first regulation for this registry was established.

The regulation also makes amendments to the Constitutional Organic Law of the Central Bank of Chile and to the Law Authorizing the Issuance and Operation of Means of Payment with Provision of Funds by Non-Banking Entities. This allows considering cryptocurrencies known as Stablecoins, whose value represents a domestic or foreign currency, as foreign currency and using them as means of payment. Likewise, they must obtain authorization from the CMF to provide one or more of the regulated services.