Brazilian exchange operator to increase cryptocurrency offerings to diversify the market

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian exchange operator B3 SA (Brasil Bolsa Balcão) intends to accelerate its offering of cryptocurrency products and services, seeking to expand and diversify revenues in a fast-growing market.

Among the offerings planned for the next two years are settlement and custody services, as well as products such as options and futures contracts and new exchange-traded funds (ETFs), B3’s chief information and technology officer Jochen Mielke de Lima told Reuters.

“But they will all be initiatives adjacent to the core business of providing infrastructure,” Lima said. “We are not going to open a cryptocurrency exchange to attract investors.”

An average of R$80 million (US$14.5 million) is traded daily through B3 in the five Brazilian cryptocurrency ETFs.

With prices falling in recent months, the value of contracts held in custody at B3 fell from R$3.5 billion in November to R$2.9 billion in December.

However, the number of investors continued to grow, reaching 164,000 by the end of 2021. Lima said B3 expects to launch new ETFs and is considering trading digital assets such as non-fungible tokens.

With information from Reuters