Through the impact of emerging technology, the worlds of law and business came together at an international event held on September 3 and 4 at the Buenos Aires headquarters of the Universidad Australwith an academic vision and a practical and interdisciplinary approach.  

The First International Congress on Law and Web3 Technology Applied to Business took place over two consecutive days, September 3 and 4, in a hybrid format: in-person and online. It brought together approximately 160 attendees—120 in person and 40 online—and featured presentations by leading figures from regulatory bodies, academics, and professionals from Argentina, Spain, Panama, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and El Salvador, who contributed comparative perspectives and regulatory experiences from their respective jurisdictions.

The meeting was organized by the Department of Business Law of the Faculty of Law of the Universidad Austral and had the support of the School of Legal Practice of the Faculty of Law of the Complutense University of Madrid.  

The tokenization of real assets (RWA), the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), international jurisdiction over crypto assets, taxation, legal vehicles, the regulation of DAOs ( Decentralized Autonomous Organizations ), and the evolution of compliance and cybersecurity were among the issues addressed.

At the opening of the meeting, Maria Valentina Aicega –Director of the Business Law Department of the Universidad Austral- and Alfred Muñoz García –from the School of Legal Practice of the Faculty of Law of the Complutense University of Madrid– welcomed the participants. 

In the opening conference, Muñoz García spoke about “Tokenization: transformative potential and regulatory barriers” and discussed the process that transforms physical or intangible assets—such as real estate, works of art, or sensitive data—into digital fragments called tokens, which are recorded on a blockchain or used to protect valuable data.

This process of “asset tokenization” allows the ownership or value of something to be divided into negotiable digital units, increasing liquidity, transparency and access for investors. 

In his presentation, Muñoz García discussed the “enormous benefits” of this system, raised the challenges of “how to implement it and how to replace one system with another” and questioned whether this conversion represents “an option or an obligation”. 

“The United States is the big champion in all of this; second is the European Union; then Asia and the Middle Eastern countries; and Latin America is very small. There are countries that are advanced like El Salvador, and then Brazil and Argentina, but there are countries that are very slow,” he noted. 

He also warned that “without legislation there are things that cannot be done,” so there is a “great responsibility for legislators” in each country, and explained that, in Europe, for example, “many projects have not achieved regulatory reform and have failed.” 

“The most innovative jurisdictions for tokenizing stock markets are in the US. In Europe, progress is slow because legislators need to adapt and learn,” the specialist said. 

Among the pioneers in this field, he explained that recently “in Dubai they have carried out the world's first tokenized real estate transaction and have sold entire apartments in one minute.” 

In the afternoon, on the panel “Capital market regulation” -with the moderation of Muñoz García- Regulatory authorities from various countries shared their management experiences. Those present included Roberto Silva (President of the National Securities Commission of Argentina), Francisco del Olmo Fons (from the Spanish National Securities Market Commission), Juan Carlos Reyes (from the National Digital Assets Commission of El Salvador), Patricia Tudisco (from the Central Bank of Uruguay) and Manuel Alejandro Monrroy Villafuerte (from the Financial System Supervisory Authority of Bolivia). 

In introducing this panel, the Dean of the Law School of the Universidad Austral, Gabriel AstarloaHe emphasized that the theme of the Congress is of "utmost current interest" and highlighted the "quality of the speakers" as well as the importance of the participation of representatives of public power. 

In his presentation on “Regulation of Virtual Asset Service Providers in Argentina”, Silva said that the Government of Javier Milei seeks to “modernize the regulatory framework and remove all possible obstacles” as well as “transform the CNV into a modern and efficient body”.

“We want to have a crypto-friendly policy. El Salvador is far ahead of us, but Argentina—with what we've done—has positioned itself at the forefront of most Latin American countries. There's still room for growth and oversight, but we've taken a lot of steps very quickly. We've positioned ourselves very well,” the official emphasized.  

Olmo Fons, from Spain, spoke about “The regulatory framework for crypto assets in Spain” and acknowledged that “there are still many unknowns and difficulties in the application that are causing everything to be delayed quite a bit.”

“A complete and new regulatory framework has been created. It has been complicated, but there has been a great deal of progress in the last five years. The worst part is coming now, which is implementing it, and that is very difficult. There needs to be convergence among the countries of the European Union, and that is what is being worked on,” he explained. 

Reyes , for his part, recounted the case of El Salvador, the only country in the world to have a national regulator for digital assets, after President Nayib Bukele decided to legalize bitcoin as a national currency.

“We have a President with a futuristic vision and a focus on creating a digital assets commission. Bitcoin is a computer program designed to act as a financial instrument. That is the big difference between El Salvador and the rest of the world,” he asserted. 

Reyes also expressed El Salvador's commitment "to helping other countries with wisdom, technology and support" and stated that "there is an opportunity for Latin America to be a leader in digital assets." 

Next, Tudisco referred to the “Regulation of virtual asset service providers in Uruguay”, where the issue “is progressing more slowly, but with legal certainty and stability in the country”, as he explained.

The specialist expressed her hope that "hands can be raised more quickly in Parliament, because the longer they delay, the more difficulties the lobbies create," and asked that "there be no interference or more political agendas." 

Finally, Monrroy Villafuerte spoke about the “Regulations for financial technology companies in Bolivia” and said that “the regulations are still lacking and the most difficult thing is to find a balance between the company and the consumer.”

“We would need a legislative assembly that generates majorities that allow us to legislate and have a data protection law, advance in cybersecurity and strengthen property rights in virtual assets,” he concluded. 

Second day  

Meanwhile, the second day of the Congress included panels on crypto assets as a means of payment, legal vehicles for tokenization, tokenomics and regulatory compliance, legal classification of DAOs, practical use cases, oracles and validators, and a debate on the practice of law in Latin America with contributions from experts from Brazil, Panama, Bolivia and Spain. 

At the close of the meeting, the need to advance harmonized regulatory frameworks, promote international cooperation, and consolidate a legal and technological ecosystem that fosters innovation was highlighted. 

The Congress concluded with a commitment to develop a collaborative document of conclusions and proposals, aimed at enriching the regulatory debate and promoting practical guidelines on this topic.