Some rumors floating around last week indicated that Colombian authorities might seek to ban bitcoin transactions. Specifically, the report , which suggests a circular was due out this week.
That document is available as of today (, item #29), and the good news is that bitcoin, nor bitcoin transactions have not been banned.
The Financial Supervisory Authority of Colombia instead took the opportunity to warn the public of the risks of getting involved with bitcoin, much like many other companies have done at this juncture.
The document, entitled Risk of transactions with ‘Virtual Currency’ addresses points we’ve seen time and time again:
- Bitcoin “is not an asset that has the legal equivalence legal tender in Colombia since it was not recognized as currency in the country.”
- Digital currency is not backed by physical assets or a central bank.
- Users are exposed to volatility.
- Bitcoin is not governed by Colombian Law. As such, users may incur losses due to lack of protection from the Colombian government.
- Transactional platforms related to bitcoin are registered in multiple jurisdictions, so oversight and regulation is above the scope of Colombian law.
- Digital currency can be used for illegal or fraudulent purposes (such as terror financing).
- Users are exposed to hacking, theft of digital currency, and transactions cannot be reversed.
- Users who trade digital currency “are not covered by any private or government guarantee” (such as the FDIC in the U.S.).
- People are not legally obligated to recognize bitcoin and digital currency as a legal form of payment.
- “There are no mechanisms to force compliance of transactions with [digital currency], which significantly increases the possibility of a risk of default.”
The document is closed with the warning that “supervised entities are not authorized to guard , invest or mediate” digital currency and its usage. As such, users should be aware of and accept the risks involved. []
SergeJF 
I beg to differ with your analysis. Colombia implements a foreign exchange control mechanism, as summarized by Deloitte ():
“Foreign exchange that is to be used for foreign direct investment may enter the country without central bank registration. However, the exchange market in Colombia comprises authorized exchange intermediaries, through which most foreign currency transactions by foreign investors must be transferred. Foreign capital investments, imports of goods, exports and currency used to repatriate profits must be directed through the exchange market”.
Intermediaries are supervised by the financial authority and have been banned from dealing in Bitcoins or any other digital currency. This means that setting up a Bitcoin exchange in Colombia is now illegal – you won’t get Superfinanciera approval to get registered as a financial intermediary.
Ordinary citizen can still exchange Bitcoins as part of unregulated private transactions, exposing themselves to the risk of getting fake Colombian Pesos for their $BTC $XBT, e.g. using the localbitcoins.com to find a buyer/seller.
My interpretation, which is obviously open to challenge, is that the Colombian authorities through this decree have rejected the integration of Bitcoin into the mainstream financial system and thus pushed it into a grey area.
That’s a logical, though hardly enlightened, move from a country that’s barely emerging from decades of illegal trade in narcotics and other serious problems.
Having said that, a less anonymous Bitcoin platform would make it more palatable to authorities with a genuine concern for uncontrolled financial transactions that benefit illegal groups, from FARC rebels to drug cartels.