The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) will issue licenses to virtual asset service providers.
The license will be available to individuals and entities, both Cuban and foreign.
The bank said that the approved licenses will be valid for one year and may be renewed for a second year, “given the experimental and new nature of this type of activity.”
Providers will be allowed to operate virtual assets approved by the BCC.
The bank specified that virtual assets “do not include digital representations of paper currency, securities and other financial assets commonly used in traditional banking and financial systems, which are regulated by other provisions of the Central Bank of Cuba.”
In August, the BCC issued a resolution establishing rules governing the use of virtual assets in commercial transactions and the licensing of service providers in this sector.
The previous resolution allowed the bank to license “virtual asset service providers for transactions involving financial, exchange and collection or payment activities within and outside the national territory.”
The current resolution does not specify how the Cuban government will levy taxes on virtual asset transactions.
According to the bank, the resolution will take effect 20 days after its publication.
Also, licensing vendors will not be able to terminate operations without prior BCC approval and will be required to maintain accounting records of their activities in accordance with standards issued by the Department of Finance.
Licensees who violate the ordinance or operate without a license will be sued under Ordinance 363, which addresses administrative violations of banking, financial and currency regulations.