brazil

According to PR Newswire, Brazilian fintech company NG.CASH has completed a strategic financing of 15 million dollars, led by Blockchain Capital. Since its establishment in 2021, the company's total financing has exceeded 65 million dollars.It is reported that NG.CASH holds two licenses issued by the Central Bank of Brazil for direct credit companies and payment institutions, and is applying for a virtual asset service provider license. Since its establishment in 2021, NG.CASH has surpassed 10 million accounts, with platform transaction volume reaching several billion dollars.

The Central Bank of Brazil issued resolutions No. 588 and No. 589, requiring virtual asset service providers (VASP) to report self-custody wallet transactions that amount to or exceed $10,000, and to strengthen anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.Resolution No. 588 stipulates that relevant transaction data will be submitted to the Financial Activities Control Council (COAF). This agency may compile transactions based on this data and establish a self-custody address database to record the asset status of Brazilian users holding cryptocurrencies through authorized centralized exchanges. Resolution No. 589 prohibits conducting business with virtual asset service institutions or entities operating in Brazil without authorization. The new regulations will take effect on October 1, 2026, and currently, only 5 VASPs have applied for licenses to operate in Brazil.

According to The Block, based on the seventh annual Geographies report by blockchain analysis company Chainalysis, during the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, the scale of global cryptocurrency economic activity shrank by only 1.6%, from $9.5 trillion to $9.4 trillion. During the same period, the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market fell by about 50%, shrinking by $2.1 trillion, marking the most severe cryptocurrency bear market since 2022. The report states that the decline in economic activity is much smaller than the decline in market capitalization.Capital flows showed divergence. Funds flowing into exchanges, DeFi protocols, and other cryptocurrency services decreased by 4.3% to $8.9 trillion; domestic P2P transfers surged by 302.9% to $228.7 billion; cross-border stablecoin flows grew by 77.5%, rising from $124.2 billion to $220.3 billion. Chainalysis noted that its cross-border statistics are somewhat conservative, as they exclude transfers where the sending and receiving countries cannot be confirmed, and pointed out that this growth comes from payments averaging about $3,000, which are far from institutional levels and more aligned with everyday use cases such as personal payments to vendors, cross-border remittances, or transferring savings.Stablecoins demonstrated better value retention during the market capitalization decline compared to other cryptocurrency assets, with global on-chain balances dropping from $860 billion in September 2025 to $440 billion in June 2026, while stablecoin balances remained between $98 billion and $109 billion during this period.

According to Ledger Insights, Brazil's securities regulator (CVM) is advancing a pilot program for distributed ledger technology (DLT) aimed at tokenized securities. This program only involves simulated trading and does not involve real securities or investors.Coordinated by the CVM Tokenization Working Group (GTT), the testing will last for 60 days and can be extended for an additional 30 days. The draft is pending approval from the board. The scope covers most of the securities lifecycle, from issuance to settlement, including stocks, bonds, receivable certificates, and investment fund shares.

Argentinian cryptocurrency exchange Lemon announced that it will cease operations in Brazil due to excessively high regulatory capital requirements. The platform will stop Lemon Card services on September 30 and will automatically close all Brazilian accounts on October 16. Lemon stated that applying for the cryptocurrency business license required by the Brazilian central bank necessitates locking in a large amount of capital, which is disproportionate to its local business scale, and therefore decided to withdraw.

The final rules from the Central Bank of Brazil for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) set the minimum capital requirement based on business and risk at approximately 10.8 million to 37.2 million Brazilian Reais (approximately 2.11 million to 7.2 million US dollars), significantly higher than the 1 million to 3 million Brazilian Reais range (approximately 195,000 to 586,000 US dollars) in the consultation draft, and adds requirements for governance, internal controls, anti-money laundering, auditing, and ongoing reporting.Industry estimates suggest there are currently about 150 to 300 related companies, with around 20 to 25 meeting the conditions or willing to apply, and ultimately only about 10 may obtain licenses. Some small platforms have ended or restructured their retail operations.

According to Bitcoin.com, the cryptocurrency industry in Brazil may enter a consolidation phase due to new regulations from the central bank. The new regulations require virtual asset service providers to meet higher capital, auditing, anti-money laundering, and ongoing reporting requirements, with capital requirements for certain types of institutions reaching up to 37.2 million reais, approximately 7.2 million dollars.

The new regulations from the Central Bank of Brazil require virtual asset service providers to meet compliance requirements related to capital, auditing, anti-money laundering, and ongoing reporting, with capital requirements reaching up to 37.2 million reais, approximately 7.2 million US dollars. Currently, among about 300 related institutions, only 20 to 25 may meet the conditions to apply for authorization, and it is expected that only 10 will obtain licenses.Some small platforms have ended or restructured their retail operations, including Bitnuvem, NovaDAX, Digitra, and Coinext, but these platforms did not attribute their decisions to the new regulations. Institutions that fail to meet the requirements will also face ongoing compliance costs, and some businesses may struggle to maintain operations. Related institutions must apply for authorization by October 30, and those that do not apply will cease operations within 30 days and notify customers.Isabel Longhi, Head of Public and Regulatory Policy for Ripple Latin America, stated that market consolidation is expected to occur as the Brazilian crypto market matures, but the new regulations will limit innovation in the short term.

According to CriptoNoticias, as the Central Bank of Brazil advances the authorization system for virtual asset service providers (PSAV), local cryptocurrency trading platforms are facing regulatory reshuffling. Digitra, Coinext, and Bitso have recently adjusted their business layouts in Brazil.Among them, Digitra has ceased trading services and decided not to apply for PSAV authorization, effectively exiting the Brazilian market; Coinext announced it would orderly close its cryptocurrency trading business due to not meeting the minimum capital requirement; Bitso has chosen to redirect its Brazilian individual retail customers to Mercado Bitcoin while retaining its institutional business line.According to the regulations of the Central Bank of Brazil, existing platforms wishing to continue operating in compliance in Brazil after the deadline at the end of October must submit their PSAV authorization applications before then. This round of adjustments may indicate that the largest cryptocurrency market in Latin America is accelerating into a deep phase of compliance reshuffling.

Brazilian banks are expanding their cryptocurrency services for customers. According to Folha de S.Paulo, Brazil's largest asset management bank, Itaú, now offers 15 types of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the US dollar stablecoin USDC, through its investment app. Brazil's largest fintech company, Nubank, has listed 28 types, and Banco do Brasil, the most profitable state-owned bank in Brazil, has seen transaction volumes exceed 11 million reais (approximately 2.1 million USD) since launching direct purchase services for Bitcoin and Ethereum in January of this year.However, customer cryptocurrency transactions have not entered the banks' balance sheets. A document from the central bank dated March 2026 shows that Brazilian banks hold zero virtual assets on their books. Over the past year, Itaú, Bradesco, Santander, Banco do Brasil, and Nubank have all expanded their cryptocurrency product lines, while the Brazilian cryptocurrency market has also reached record sizes. According to data from the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service, Receita Federal, Brazilians transferred 505.5 billion reais (approximately 98.7 billion USD) through cryptocurrencies in 2025, more than five times that of 2020, with corporate transactions accounting for 98.3%.This move by banks coincides with the implementation of regulations. In 2022, Brazil passed the "Virtual Asset Legal Framework," granting regulatory authority to the central bank. Three resolutions issued in November 2025 require any institution allowing customers to trade, hold, or send cryptocurrencies to obtain a license, meet minimum capital requirements, and segregate customer accounts, with a compliance deadline of October 30, 2026.

According to Ledger Insights, in March of this year, Citibank issued its first native digital structured note on Euroclear's D-FMI tokenization platform, targeting distribution channels for Citibank's wealth management business.Now, Banco do Brasil, a state-owned holding bank, has announced that it has invested $5 million to purchase subsequent notes in the same Citibank project. This Brazilian bank stated that this transaction is the first of its kind for a financial institution in Latin America. The Brazilian bank made the investment through its proprietary funds department on August 19, using its own funds for the instrument rather than investing on behalf of clients. Citigroup issued the note through its Luxembourg entity, with its London branch acting as the issuance and paying agent. The underlying reference asset of the structured note has not been disclosed.

According to data from the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB), cryptocurrency purchases in July amounted to $572 million, a decrease of nearly 80% compared to $2.6 billion in June, and a decline of nearly 60% from $1.4 billion in July 2025.Fernando Rocha, head of the statistics department at the Central Bank of Brazil, stated that the changes are part of the adaptation of cryptocurrency exchanges to the new regulatory environment for digital assets, with anti-money laundering controls and governance requirements being significant factors in the reduction of transaction volume. Since 2026, the total amount of cryptocurrency purchases in Brazil has reached $15.25 billion, more than doubling compared to $7.6 billion in the same period of 2025. BCB noted that most of the related transactions involve stablecoins.

According to BeInCrypto, the digital campaign of Brazil's "pro-Bitcoin" presidential candidate Renan Santos has been suspended, with 3.3 million reais (approximately 600,000 USD) of public campaign funds frozen and 16 campaign social media accounts restricted.Weeks before this ruling, Santos had just supported the establishment of a national Bitcoin reserve. His candidacy has not been revoked, but his online reach and funding have been severely impacted.

The Central Bank of Brazil has developed a real-time warning system for cryptocurrency threats and has collaborated with the digital asset threat protection company Hypernative to provide attack identification, response, and fund tracking support to banks and domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. In July 2025, cybercriminals exploited a software vulnerability in the financial software middleware company C&M to steal $180 million from the financial system and exchanged part of the funds for Bitcoin and USDT through exchanges.This incident has prompted the Central Bank of Brazil to accelerate the construction of related systems. Regina Pedroso, Executive Director of the Brazilian Tokenization Association, stated that the system will begin integration in the next two weeks, with Foxbit and Mercado Bitcoin participating in the implementation. Relevant agencies have completed testing and issued some warnings, and Brazil will also implement a 24-hour preventive hold on cryptocurrency transfers exceeding $10,000 per transaction or per day for individuals.

Coinbase announced that Brazilian users can now buy and sell USDC directly using Brazilian Real on the Coinbase Advanced platform. This feature reduces the intermediate steps in the trading process and lowers the cost of acquiring USDC with Brazilian Real by 85%.Coinbase stated that stablecoins are becoming an important part of the global financial system, with global stablecoin settlement volume exceeding $30 trillion by 2025, and Coinbase's annual stablecoin settlement volume approaching $1 trillion.

The stablecoin infrastructure platform Interlace has officially established an office in Brazil and formed a local team to further advance its market layout in Latin America. Interlace will provide global payment and digital asset infrastructure support for businesses by connecting local financial institutions, cross-border trade platforms, digital asset ecosystems, and Web3 project parties.In addition, Interlace recently appeared at the Blockchain.RIO exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, engaging with practitioners in the financial, payment, and digital asset sectors in Brazil and Latin America. Interlace's Country Manager for Brazil, Guilherme Santos, was invited to participate in a panel discussion on topics such as digital assets, stablecoin payments, and financial infrastructure.It is reported that Interlace will participate in the Argentina Crecimiento LATAM Digital Assets Conference from August 20 to 21, where it will deliver a speech sharing global card issuance project practices and its market layout in Latin America.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, the "Brazil Presidential Election" event is currently among the hottest trading topics on the prediction market Polymarket, with a cumulative pool size reaching $1.255 billion. The option with the highest market consensus is "Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva," corresponding to a winning probability of about 65.5%.

According to Livecoins, the Joint Task Force Against Organized Crime in Rondônia, Brazil (FICCO/RO) executed arrest and search warrants against a gang suspected of electronic fraud and money laundering. The criminal organization is accused of using cryptocurrency exchanges to hide illegal funds transferred from the original victims' accounts.A case investigated in 2025 resulted in losses of approximately $5.74 million. The court has issued 8 preventive arrest warrants and 18 search warrants, and authorized the freezing of related assets such as cryptocurrency exchange and bank accounts. In addition to targeting securities accounts, the law also mandates the seizure of vehicles and boats belonging to the individuals under investigation.

Brazilian Bitcoin treasury company OranjeBTC (B3: OBTC3) announced the launch of the Digital Yield ETF (DIGY11), which is created in collaboration with 3R Investimentos and MarketVector, and is expected to be listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange B3 in early September.DIGY11 will initially invest in preferred shares issued by Strategy through STRC and preferred shares issued by Strive through SATA, distributing returns to investors in Brazilian reais on a monthly basis while providing daily liquidity and currency hedging. Under current market conditions, DIGY11 is expected to provide an annualized distribution yield equivalent to CDI plus approximately 3% to 5%, but this estimate does not include fluctuations in the fund share price and does not constitute a guarantee of returns. This ETF does not directly invest in Bitcoin but provides Brazilian investors with a localized channel to access USD returns and exposure to Bitcoin ecosystem assets by holding preferred shares related to Bitcoin treasury companies.