The discussion around digital currencies has increasingly moved on from what they’re capable of, to what governments will allow them to do. At Latin America considers what regulations should be imposed in the industry, SiGMA America’s Virtual Summit’s Day 3 was all about blockchain developments, and how digital currencies are legislated definitely came up.

Just as with gambling, Latam’s approach to digital currency regulation has been very heterogenous. “Latin America is a very interesting place to be and an interesting region to follow because not every country thinks alike, and it’s a nice way to see how people try different approaches and different solutions to the same issue,” said Jose Antonio Lanz Diaz, Writer and Editor at Decrypt Media. “ Let’s see how they work.”

Unfortunately, as so many scams have entered the industry, either through initial coin offerings (ICOs) in 2017 or through DeFi now, regulation has had to focus on keeping customers safe before all else. Regulation, said Etienne Luquet, CEO of Legal Lab, “has been a solution for just making people safe in their property and their money, because you know a lot of restrictions are in place in some of these countries. At the same time, Latin America has been a great laboratory because you know there are some special circumstances.”

Mexico is a great example of a country trying to come to grips with how to regulate the industry. Unfortunately, exchanges that aren’t focused on providing any real value to customers, but rather in pumping up useless assets, have been very adept at finding loopholes.