Regulación tributaria del uso de criptomonedas en el Ecuador: análisis del estado actual y necesidades de regulación

Abstract

The recent shift in the global landscape towards a digital economy and decentralized finance has paved the way for the use of cryptocurrencies in financial markets. The use of a cryptocurrency as a means of payment, as a property right in digital assets, and exchanges to move capital volumes without the need for a controlling body, such as banking entities or government institutions; in this context, the problem of its regulation in the Ecuadorian territory arises. It is at that moment that we question what its legal treatment is within the national legal framework. Being virtual money managed in the cloud, there is still no clarity regarding the applicable tax legal regime, making it necessary for States to establish mechanisms to regulate taxes on the profits reported by this type of assets. This work carries out a bibliographic research in indexed databases and other doctrinal contributions with which it is intended to characterize cryptocurrencies, their use as currency or value asset, and the regulations that the Ecuadorian legislation has developed in this regard. The results detail the main regulatory needs to start the country”s adaptation process to this new financial era.