The prohibition was enforced by the Honduran National Banking and Securities Commission due to the absence of regulations in the nation.
A resolution prohibiting the nation’s financial institutions from dealing with cryptocurrencies has been released by the National Banking and Securities Commission of Honduras (CNBS). Because cryptocurrency transactions are unregulated, the Honduran central bank stated that it cannot guarantee them. According to the resolution, people who use cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based financial services run the risk of falling victim to fraud as well as operational and legal issues. They also run the risk of their acceptance being revoked at any time because they are not legally required to be used as a form of payment or transacted with.
The resolution went on to say that because cryptocurrency assets are uncontrolled, they can also be utilised for fraud, money laundering, and supporting terrorist activities. Consequently, the CNBS decided to:
“Prohibit institutions under the National Banking and Securities Commission’s supervision from holding, investing in, utilising, or conducting business involving tokens, virtual currencies, or other comparable virtual assets.”
It is also forbidden for supervised institutions to own derivatives based on cryptocurrency assets. The resolution mandated that financial education programmes address the risks associated with cryptocurrency assets. There are open cryptocurrency exchanges in Honduras.
The Honduran presidential administration includes the CNBS. On February 15, the resolution, dated February 12, was made public. It stated that it was unanimously accepted and that it is effective right now. In March 2022, the Honduran central bank issued a caution against the use of cryptocurrencies in response to press reports suggesting that the nation would follow El Salvador’s example by legalising Bitcoin. Simultaneously, it declared that it was researching the possibility of a central bank issuing digital currency.
Still, Honduras has seen some adoption of Bitcoin. Bitcoin Valley, which debuted in the summer of 2022 with the intention of drawing tourists who could pay in Bitcoin, US dollars, or Honduran lempira, is located in the nation.
Additionally, Próspera, a city in the Roatan Special Economic Zone in Honduras, is home to Bitcoin, which was recognised as an accounting unit in January and becomes legal money in 2022. How such places will be impacted by the CNBS resolution remains unknown.