BRAZIL · CRYPTO REGULATION
Key Facts
- The country Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy, and its central bank now licenses the exchanges and custodians that sell and hold crypto assets.
- Why it matters US crypto platforms that serve Brazilian customers need a Brazilian central bank license to keep operating there. Coinbase and Kraken both filed in the final days.
- Why now The 270-day window for firms already operating in Brazil closed on Friday 30 October 2026.
- What happened Dozens of exchanges, banks and payment firms lodged requests with the central bank before the cut-off, and a private count put the total at 63 by that evening.
- The numbers 270 days to file, 30 days to wind down for firms that did not file, and 6 November 2026 as the new date for banks to stop dealing with unlicensed providers.
- What it means for you Customers of firms that filed should see no change while the review runs, and customers of firms that did not file face a shutdown by about 29 November.
- Still open Which filers will be approved, how long the review will take, and how banks will treat firms whose requests are still pending.
- Power Index Brazil ranks 1st of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 75.0 points (October 2026 edition).
In Plain English
A virtual asset service provider, or VASP, is a company that exchanges, transfers or holds crypto assets for customers, and in Brazil the licensed version is called an SPSAV. The Banco Central do Brasil is the central bank that grants the license.
Cainvest is a private firm that built a monitor of license requests, which is not an official register. Its count is the one cited by the business magazine Exame.
Coinbase and Kraken, two US crypto exchanges, filed license requests with Brazil’s central bank in the final days of a transition window that closed on Friday 30 October 2026. Filing on time lets a firm keep serving Brazilian customers while the review runs, and missing the date forces a shutdown of regulated services.
The business magazine Exame, citing a private monitor built by the firm Cainvest, counted 63 applicants by the evening of 30 October, among them Binance, OKX, Bybit, Ripple, Mercado Bitcoin and the stock exchange B3. The count comes from a private monitor and not from the central bank, and a filing is not an approval.
What the Central Bank Rule Requires
Resolution BCB 520, dated 10 November 2025, requires virtual asset service providers to ask the central bank for authorization before they operate, and it entered into force on 2 February 2026. Article 88 gave firms already operating a maximum of 270 days from that date to file, which ended on 30 October 2026.
Firms that filed on time may keep providing their services until the review ends, but may not take on a different type of service in the meantime. Firms that did not file must stop providing virtual asset services within 30 days after the deadline, a date Portal do Bitcoin counted as 29 November 2026 by adding 30 calendar days.
A later amendment moved the cut-off for banks. Resolution BCB 589, dated 23 September 2026, rewrote Article 91 so that banks and payment institutions are barred from virtual asset dealings with unauthorized counterparties from 6 November 2026 instead of the 30 October date in the original text.
The original wording covered counterparties that were neither authorized nor in the process of authorization, while the new wording refers only to counterparties not authorized to operate in the country. The resolution makes an exception only for forms it expressly authorizes, so whether a pending filer counts is not clear from the wording alone.
Who Filed and Who Did Not
Fabio Plein, the executive responsible for Coinbase in Brazil, was quoted by Portal do Bitcoin as saying that the request will allow the company’s current operations in Brazil to continue under the new framework. He described a plan for an “Everything Exchange” that would add foreign exchange and payment services, and Coinbase said each of those activities depends on its own authorization.
Ripple confirmed that it filed its documents on Wednesday 28 October after announcing in March that it intended to apply, according to Portal do Bitcoin. Bitget, which Exame placed sixth by 24-hour trading volume on the CoinGecko data site, filed on Friday 30 October, and its Brazil country manager Noah Cheung called the step part of a long-term commitment to the country.
Brazilian names on Exame’s list include Mercado Bitcoin, B3, BTG Pactual, Banco BS2 and Banco Rendimento, along with Itaú Unibanco, Bradesco, Banco Inter and Nubank. Portal do Bitcoin noted that banks that already hold a central bank license, such as Itaú, Bradesco, Inter and Nubank, use a regulatory notification procedure that differs from the license request required of pure crypto firms.
Livecoins reported that the market had expected between 150 and 200 applicants, well above the roughly 40 that public trackers had identified by the afternoon of Thursday 29 October. Portal do Bitcoin wrote that the central bank’s public process base showed only seven requests at the end of September, and that some firms chose to close or shrink their Brazilian operations instead of applying.
Live Market IntelligenceCrypto — Live Market Board
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Crypto — Live Market Board
+0.67%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTC | 80,543 | +0.67% | -29.41% | 80,007 | 80,550 | 79,380 | 21,816,416,256 |
| ETH | 2,348 | +1.18% | -43.00% | 2,320 | 2,349 | 2,295 | 8,316,267,520 |
| SOL | 100.98 | +0.22% | -49.19% | 100.75 | 101.04 | 99.17 | 2,110,777,984 |
| XRP | 1.32 | +1.04% | -49.89% | 1.31 | 1.32 | 1.29 | 1,574,615,552 |
| BNB | 750.98 | +1.29% | -34.10% | 741.42 | 751.10 | 733.56 | 1,470,316,160 |
| ADA | 0.21 | -0.30% | -69.21% | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.20 | 190,120,672 |
| DOGE | 0.08 | +0.78% | -60.98% | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 441,746,112 |
| AVAX | 8.84 | -1.36% | -56.54% | 8.96 | 8.96 | 8.67 | 289,961,824 |
| LINK | 11.47 | +0.80% | -37.04% | 11.38 | 11.47 | 11.23 | 248,509,440 |
| DOT | 0.99 | -2.05% | -68.52% | 1.01 | 1.01 | 0.98 | 109,918,912 |
| LTC | 56.59 | -0.13% | -43.06% | 56.66 | 56.87 | 55.70 | 169,852,160 |
| BCH | 290.36 | +3.57% | -47.81% | 280.36 | 292.52 | 277.47 | 195,939,216 |
| TRX | 0.33 | -0.51% | +9.69% | 0.33 | 0.33 | 0.33 | 371,519,040 |
| XLM | 0.17 | +0.21% | -47.60% | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 107,134,680 |
| HBAR | 0.08 | -1.56% | -58.82% | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 55,674,584 |
| NEAR | 4.62 | +2.60% | +97.50% | 4.50 | 4.64 | 4.39 | 630,712,192 |
| ATOM | 1.61 | -1.48% | -49.28% | 1.64 | 1.64 | 1.60 | 30,012,314 |
| AAVE | 132.37 | -2.36% | -43.78% | 135.57 | 135.87 | 129.56 | 246,790,448 |
What Happens to Customers
Exchanges that did not file must end their regulated services by about 29 November 2026 and are expected to tell customers how to withdraw or move their funds, Portal do Bitcoin reported. A company that sells other financial products may close only the activities that need the license, the outlet explained.
From 6 November, Brazilian banks and payment institutions may not handle virtual asset operations with providers that are not authorized, under the amended Article 91. That date matters for exchanges that rely on Brazilian bank accounts to take deposits and send withdrawals.
What It Means for You
For US exchanges and their shareholders, the filings are the first step toward a regulated foothold in Latin America’s largest economy, and approval would let Coinbase pursue its “Everything Exchange” plan there. A rejection or a long review would leave those firms limited to the services already covered by their pending requests.
Americans who use a crypto platform while living in or visiting Brazil can check whether it filed, because one that did not must wind down its regulated services by about 29 November. The earlier guide to Brazil’s crypto licensing rules and the report on the Binance hack give the wider backdrop on the Brazil page.
What Is Not Known
It is not known how many of the roughly 63 requests the central bank will approve, or how long the two-phase review will take for each firm. The 63 figure comes from a private monitor, so it could still change as the central bank updates its own records.
How banks must treat a provider whose request is still pending after 6 November is not settled by the amended wording alone. It is also not known which firms will wind down by 29 November, or how many Brazilian customers they serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which US crypto exchanges applied for a Brazil license?
Exame’s list includes the US exchanges Coinbase and Kraken among 63 applicants counted by a private monitor on 30 October. Ripple, Binance, OKX and Bybit also appear on that list.
What happens to crypto firms that did not apply in Brazil?
They must stop providing virtual asset services within 30 days after the 30 October deadline, which Portal do Bitcoin counted as 29 November by adding 30 calendar days. Banks are barred from dealing with unauthorized providers from 6 November.
Does filing mean Brazil granted a crypto license?
No, a filing only starts the central bank’s review of the firm. Firms that filed on time may keep providing their services until that process ends.
When did Brazil’s crypto licensing rules take effect?
Resolution BCB 520 took effect on 2 February 2026. Firms already operating had 270 days from that date to apply, which ended on 30 October 2026.
Sources: Banco Central do Brasil, Resolution BCB 520, 10 November 2025 (as amended); Banco Central do Brasil, Resolution BCB 589, 23 September 2026; Exame, 30 October 2026; Portal do Bitcoin, 28 October 2026; Portal do Bitcoin, 29 October 2026; Portal do Bitcoin, 30 October 2026; Livecoins, 30 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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