Survey: nearly 50% of Brazil’s financial pyramids involve Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The growth in the number of cases of financial pyramids in Brazil for years has been drawing attention from major regulators, such as the CVM (Securities and Exchange Commission), which regulates and oversees the securities market, imposing penalties on those failing to comply with the established rules.

The main point is that cryptocurrencies are used only in fraudsters’ rhetoric, who justify the exponential returns received by their clients by claiming that their money is being invested in high-potential cryptocurrencies.

According to the survey, the main vehicle for the spread of these scams is Whatsapp (corresponding to 27.5% of all scams), which due to the fact that it is poorly regulated, does not pose many limitations or obstacles to scammers.

As most of the victims do not fully understand the market and are easily charmed by promises of “easy gain with little risk involved,” many fall for these scams.

In 2020 alone, the CVM sent 325 reports of evidence of financial crimes to Prosecutors’ Offices (State and Federal), up 75% compared to 2019.

The data reveals some of the most common features of victims, which are:

• Men (91%);
• 30 to 39 years old (36.5%);
• Family income of 2 to 5 minimum wages (23%);
• College degree or post-graduate (71%).

One should be very cautious with promises of easy earnings involving low risk. Low risk in the market is only found in fixed income products, which in Brazil nowadays do not yield much per year. High returns can be found in markets such as cryptocurrencies, which involve high risk.