Is crypto legal in Chile? Rules & regulation (2026)

Legal framework

Law No. 21.521 (Fintech Law, 2023), regulated by the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF); secondary rules under NCG 502; tax administered by Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII)

Status by sub-area

• Stablecoins

  Partial

  Fiat-backed stablecoins operating as means of payment fall under the regulatory scope of the Central Bank of Chile (BCCh), which is drafting specific proposals. The Fintech Law and NCG 502 do not yet contain comprehensive stablecoin-specific issuance or reserve-backing rules; dedicated regulation is expected by 2026.

  Still pending: BCCh drafting dedicated stablecoin issuance and reserve-backing rules (expected 2026)

• Exchanges / VASP

  In force

  Crypto exchanges and all virtual-asset service providers must register in the CMF's RPSF and obtain operating authorisation under NCG 502. The registration deadline was 3 February 2025. Requirements include minimum capital, client-asset segregation, AML/KYC compliance, and Travel Rule adherence from June 2025.

• Token Offerings

  Partial

  Token offerings are not covered by a dedicated ICO/STO framework. Security-like tokens triggering the definition of a 'financial instrument' under Chilean securities law require a CMF-approved prospectus and full disclosure; utility tokens face no specific issuance rules but must not be promoted in a misleading manner under general consumer-protection norms.

  Still pending: Dedicated ICO/STO regulatory framework not yet established

• Custody

  In force

  Custody of financial instruments including crypto-assets is a regulated activity under Law 21.521 and NCG 502. Custodians must obtain CMF authorisation, maintain segregation of client assets, meet minimum capital requirements, implement governance controls, maintain business-continuity plans, and submit to a third-party operational review.

• DeFi

  Unclear

  DeFi protocols, lending/borrowing platforms, DAO structures, and yield products occupy an explicit regulatory grey area in Chile. The CMF has launched a consultation on yield-bearing products and UAF Circular 62 may capture front-ends meeting the VASP definition, but no binding DeFi-specific rules have been enacted as of mid-2026.

  Still pending: CMF yield-bearing product consultation ongoing; binding DeFi rules not enacted

• Tax

  In force

  The SII classifies crypto-assets as movable intangible assets; gains on disposal are taxed as general income under Article 20 No. 5 of the Income Tax Law (Ley de la Renta) at progressive rates of 0–40%. Mining, staking, and airdrop income is treated as ordinary income at fair market value on receipt. Annual declaration via Form F22 is mandatory. From August 2025, exchanges must file DJ 1963/DJ 1964 information returns with the SII; CARF automatic exchange applies from 2027.

Key points: crypto & digital assets in Chile

1. 01Fintech Law (Ley 21.521)

   Enacted January 2023, Law 21.521 introduced a licensing regime covering five crypto-related financial services: alternative transaction systems (exchanges), investment advice, custody, order routing, and brokerage. Crypto-assets are defined as 'digital representations of units of value, goods or services, excluding legal tender, that can be transferred, stored or exchanged digitally.'

   bcn.cl cmfchile.cl

2. 02CMF Secondary Regulation, NCG 502

   General Rule NCG 502 (first issued 2024, revised December 2024) sets registration and authorisation requirements for CASPs, including minimum capital/collateral, client-asset segregation, governance, cybersecurity controls, business-continuity plans, and a mandatory third-party operational-capability opinion. The CMF has 30 days to process registration and up to 6 months to grant operating authorisation.

   cmfchile.cl cms.law

3. 03VASP Registration Deadline, February 2025

   All exchanges, custodians, and related service providers were required to register in the CMF's Financial Service Providers Registry (RPSF) and obtain operating authorisation by 3 February 2025; entities failing to do so must cease accepting new business.

   practiceguides.chambers.com cmfchile.cl

4. 04Travel Rule, UAF Circular 62 (June 2025)

   Circular UAF No. 62, in force from 1 June 2025, imposes AML/CFT obligations including the Travel Rule: crypto platforms must identify both sender and receiver for transactions of USD 1,000 or more and report suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit (UAF).

   cmfchile.cl obtienearchivo.bcn.cl

5. 05SII Tax Enforcement and Reporting

   From August 2025, Chilean exchanges must report user transactions to the SII via mandatory information returns DJ 1963 and DJ 1964. The SII has already audited 13 crypto tax cases yielding approximately CLP 5 billion in additional assessments.

   sii.cl

6. 06CARF Commitment, Automatic Reporting from 2027

   Chile has formally adhered to the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), obliging domestic exchanges to implement automatic exchange of tax information on crypto transactions with treaty partners starting in 2027.

   obtienearchivo.bcn.cl practiceguides.chambers.com

Timeline of decisions

1. 21 Oct 2025Decision · official
   Chile Signs OECD CARF Multilateral Agreement for Automatic Crypto Tax Data Exchange

   Chile formally signed the CARF Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (CARF-MCAA), committing to automatic exchange of crypto-asset transaction data with partner jurisdictions beginning with the 2026 data year (first exchanges in 2027). This extends the OECD AEOI framework to cover VASPs and effectively ends crypto tax opacity for cross-border holdings.

   OECD Global Forum on Tax Transparency

2. 1 Jul 2025Law
   FATF Travel Rule for Crypto Transfers Enters Into Force

   Under UAF Circular 62, registered VASPs must collect and transmit full sender and receiver identity data for cryptocurrency transfers of USD 1,000 or more, ending anonymity for threshold-crossing transactions and fully aligning Chile with FATF Recommendation 16.

   La Tercera (reporting UAF Circular 62)

3. 20 May 2025Decision
   Supreme Court Definitively Rejects Crypto Exchanges' Antitrust Case Against Banks

   Chile's Corte Suprema rejected the final appeal by Buda.com, CryptoMKT, and OrionX, confirming that banks were individually justified under AML risk management in closing exchange accounts and had not colluded. The ruling closed a 7-year legal saga and entrenched the risk-based banking approach toward crypto firms absent a court-imposed duty to serve.

   BioBioChile (Corte Suprema ruling)

4. 19 Mar 2025Guidance
   UAF Issues Circular 62: Unified AML/CFT Rulebook Covering VASPs

   Chile's Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) issued Circular 62, systematising all AML/CFT obligations for supervised entities, including virtual asset service providers, with stricter KYC, continuous transaction monitoring, and suspicious-activity reporting requirements aligned with updated FATF standards; main provisions took effect 1 June 2025.

   UAF Chile / Carey Abogados

5. 3 Dec 2024Guidance · official
   CMF Amends NCG 502: Tightens Rules for Finfluencers and Agent Representatives

   The CMF refined General Rule 502 to clarify obligations for natural persons acting on behalf of authorised entities and introduced differentiated compliance thresholds for social-media investment advisors based on follower count, tightening oversight of the growing retail crypto advisory market.

   CMF Chile

6. 12 Jan 2024Law · official
   CMF Issues NCG 502: Binding Registration and Capital Rules for VASPs

   General Rule 502 translated the Fintech Law into enforceable compliance thresholds, mandatory CMF registration, governance standards, minimum capital, and AML/CFT controls, for all financial service providers including crypto exchanges and custodians; incumbents had until 3 February 2025 to register.

   CMF Chile

7. 22 Dec 2023Decision
   TDLC Dismisses Exchanges' Antitrust Claim Against Five Major Banks

   The Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia rejected claims by Buda.com, CryptoMKT, and OrionX that BancoEstado, Banco de Chile, Itaú, Scotiabank, and Santander had colluded to exclude them, ruling that each bank's account closure was an independent, AML-justified decision rather than coordinated anticompetitive conduct.

   BioBioChile (TDLC ruling)

8. 21 Mar 2023Guidance · official
   SII Oficio 907: VAT Does Not Apply to Crypto Spot Trading

   Chile's Internal Revenue Service (SII) formally ruled that buying and selling crypto-assets is not subject to VAT because they are intangible goods; capital gains from trading remain taxable under general income-tax rules, cementing the pre-existing interpretive treatment and reducing uncertainty for exchanges.

   Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII)

9. 4 Jan 2023Law · official
   Fintech Law 21.521 Published, Chile's First Statutory Crypto Framework

   Law 21.521 ('Ley Fintec'), published in the Official Gazette on 4 January 2023 and in force from 3 February 2023, created Chile's first comprehensive statutory framework for digital assets: defining crypto-assets as a regulated category, mandating VASP registration with the CMF, and enabling the CMF to set prudential, operational, and consumer-protection standards.

   Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile

10. 1 Dec 2018Decision
    Supreme Court Upholds Bank Account Closures of Crypto Exchanges

    Chile's Corte Suprema upheld BancoEstado's closure of OrionX's accounts, overturning an earlier precautionary injunction; the ruling signalled that banks retained discretion to terminate crypto-firm accounts on AML grounds absent a dedicated regulatory framework, leaving exchanges without reliable banking services for years.

    CriptoNoticias (Corte Suprema)

11. 1 Jun 2018Guidance · official
    Banco Central Publishes First Formal Risk Assessment of Crypto-Assets

    The Banco Central de Chile's Financial Stability Report (IEF 1-2018) included the first official analytical assessment of crypto-assets, concluding they posed limited systemic risk at that time while flagging volatility, AML exposure, and absence of legal-tender status, establishing the supervisory posture that shaped subsequent policy.

    Banco Central de Chile

12. 1 Mar 2018Incident
    Major Banks Simultaneously Close Crypto Exchange Accounts, Triggering Litigation

    BancoEstado, Banco de Chile, Itaú, Scotiabank, and Santander closed the bank accounts of Chile's main exchanges, Buda.com, CryptoMKT, and OrionX, within days of each other citing AML/CFT risk; the incident exposed the regulatory vacuum for VASPs and became the direct catalyst for years of competition-law litigation and ultimately for the 2023 Fintech Law.

    Infobae

Sources

1. 1.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1187323
2. 2.cmfchile.cl/portal/principal/613/w3-article-60379.html
3. 3.cmfchile.cl/portal/principal/613/articles-79589_doc_pdf.pdf
4. 4.cmfchile.cl/sitio/aplic/serdoc/ver_sgd.php?s567=0bfdc7b5180432b1aebbe437b5d7b6edV
5. 5.sii.cl/noticias/2025/220925noti02pcr.htm
6. 6.obtienearchivo.bcn.cl/obtienearchivo?id=repositorio%2F10221%2F36870%2F1%2FBCN_Regulacion_de
7. 7.practiceguides.chambers.com/practice-guides/blockchain-2025/chile/trends-and-developments
8. 8.cms.law/en/int/expert-guides/cms-expert-guide-to-crypto-regulation/chile
9. 9.cms.law/en/int/expert-guides/cms-expert-guide-on-taxation-of-crypto-assets/ch