In 2022 alone, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether have fallen by almost 60%, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
However, that hasn’t stopped the number of Brazilians interested in the new asset class from increasing significantly.
According to an IRS report released this week, the number of Brazilian cryptocurrency investors has increased nearly 200% this year.
According to the IRS, just between June and July 2022, the number of individuals investing in cryptos jumped from 794,755 to 1,336,715.
It is the first time the monthly tally of the number of investors has exceeded 1 million since reporting cryptocurrency transactions became mandatory in 2019.
However, this number may be even higher in practice.
That is because the data released by the IRS takes into account the CPFs that bought digital assets from the information passed on by cryptocurrency brokers operating in Brazil or by the investors themselves, in the case of transactions that exceed the value of R$30,000 (US$5,765) in a single month.
That is, the data does not include, for example, users of foreign platforms, which do not need to comply with Normative Instruction 1,888. This detail suggests that more than 1,336,715 people are buying cryptocurrencies in Brazil.
According to data released by the Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Market Entities (Anbima), released in June, the number of crypto investors in Brazil had already reached 2% of the population. The number would be equivalent to 4.2 million people.
However, this does not invalidate the data released by the IRS this week, as they show that in addition to the quantity, the Brazilian interest in cryptos keeps growing. Through 2022, the number of investors would have already increased by 200%, according to data from the IRS.
In addition, the report points to an increase in diversity between men and women in the Brazilian crypto scene. Although they are still far from representing the same share as men, women jumped from 14.12% to 18.49% between June and July.
On the other hand, companies with registered CNPJ showed a decline from 11,786 to 11,342 in the same period, returning to a similar level as in May.
Although the IRS report shows optimistic data about the evolution of the crypto sector in Brazil, it also indicates that the increase in the number of investors was not proportional to the volume of investment.
According to the IRS data, Brazilian individuals and companies purchased R$1.7 billion in bitcoin in July, about 26% less than the R$2.3 billion recorded in the previous month.
Considering all crypto-activities, the volume in reais fell approximately 11%, from R$13.7 billion to R$12.2 billion.
With information from Exame