Honduras regulator bans crypto trading – Why?

Honduras’ primary financial authority, the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBS), declared a comprehensive prohibition on the trade, investment, and mediation of cryptocurrencies and similar virtual assets within the nation’s financial system.

The CNBS’s resolution, unveiled in a statement last Friday but officially dated Monday, explicitly forbids financial institutions under its oversight from engaging in any transactions involving cryptocurrencies, crypto-assets, virtual currencies, tokens, or any virtual assets not expressly issued or sanctioned by the central bank.

Despite the absence of formal regulation concerning crypto assets in Honduran legislation, the country has witnessed a burgeoning interest and participation in digital currency trading. The CNBS highlighted the challenges posed by the global nature of cryptocurrency platforms, which often span multiple legal jurisdictions, thereby eluding the grasp of Honduran regulatory oversight. This international dispersion, according to the watchdog, significantly heightens the risk of these platforms being exploited for fraudulent activities, money laundering schemes, and the financing of terrorist actions.

The Honduran central bank has previously voiced its apprehensions, stating unequivocally that it neither endorses nor guarantees the security of transactions involving digital currencies. In a nod to the global trend of exploring cryptocurrencies as potential legal tender, the central bank revealed in March 2022 its ongoing deliberations on the technical and legal feasibility of introducing its own digital currency. However, a definitive stance or decision on this matter remains pending, leaving the door open to speculation and anticipation.

Adding a layer of complexity to Honduras’ crypto narrative is the unique case of Honduras Prospera, an experimental model resort town carved out on the Caribbean coast. This town, designed as a Special Economic Development Zone (ZEDE) with its administrative, fiscal, and budgetary autonomy, made headlines in April 2022 by declaring Bitcoin as legal tender within its confines. The implications of the CNBS’s recent policy on this autonomous zone and its pioneering embrace of bitcoin remain unclear, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the future of digital currencies in such special jurisdictions within Honduras.