#187: Meliuz wants to become Brazil's MicroStrategy
Plus: Braiscompany leaders sentenced; Liqi and XDC to issue US$500 million in RWA tokens
Olá pessoal!
Welcome back to 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report for the week of April 14-18. I hope everyone had a pleasant Easter weekend.
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🔎 What’s in BCR this week?
Méliuz looks to become Brazil’s MicroStrategy
XDC Network and Liqi to issue US$500 million in RWA tokens
Leaders of Braiscompany pyramid sentenced
Drex and RWAs Tokenization Remain Central Bank Priorities
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🎙New Podcast!
This week’s episode is with Lucas Danicek, CEO and founder of Nexa Finance. Lucas spent 15 years managing the wealth of Brazil’s richest families.
Now, he’s using tokenization to help regular investors access prime investment opportunities typically available to only high-net worth individuals. Nexa is using blockchain and AI to create personalized investment funds (think “private ETFs”) based on the individual’s risk profile and objectives.
This is one of the most interesting applications of tokenization I’ve ever come across, and Lucas has the team and the skillset to be able to pull this off. Definitely recommend a listen to this!
I also published a special episode this week of a panel I moderated at Merge Buenos Aires last month. This was a behind the scenes look into how banks and TradFi institutions have been U-turning into digital assets over the last six months. Worth a click!
🎧 You can find Brazil Crypto Report content wherever you listen to podcasts: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon | Anchor | YouTube
Méliuz looks to become Brazil’s MicroStrategy
The company called a general shareholders meeting on May 6 to vote on a proposal that would broaden Meliuz’s business strategy to include investing in bitcoin, in a bid to turn the company into Brazil’s version of MicroStrategy.
The objective is to adopt bitcoin as the company’s main strategic treasury asset, “in addition to encouraging the incremental generation of Bitcoin for its shareholders, whether through the generation of operating cash or through possible financial operations and strategic initiatives”.
Meliuz emphasized that it will not abandon its core activities as a cashback solutions provider, though it will look to increase cash generation so as to acquire more bitcoin over time.
Recall that on March 6, Meliuz announced that it used 10% of its cash reserves to purchase bitcoin — totaling US$4.1 million in purchases of 45.72 bitcoins.
Meliuz founder and chairman Israel Salmen told Portal do Bitcoin:
“We truly believe that Bitcoin is a currency with a global future, and that’s why we made this decision. The price of Bitcoin could reach $10,000 or $200,000, just as the stock could rise 20% in a day, but that’s irrelevant in the short term. What matters is that we believe in the thesis of the currency and its economics, and we are positioned for the future.”
Marcio Penna, Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Governance at Meliuz, told Exame:
"The proposal, if approved, will make Méliuz the first publicly traded company in Brazil to adopt the Bitcoin Standard, inspired by the success stories of Strategy and Metaplanet. We remain committed to our core business, which remains solid and will continue to be the main source of cash generation — an essential element to sustain this new phase of strategic allocation in bitcoin.”
Shareholders who disagree with this strategy will be entitled to a refund based on the equity value of their shares.
CoinTelegraph Brasil BlockNews Livecoins
XDC Network and Liqi to issue US$500 million in RWA tokens
The initiative is one of the largest institutional RWA initiatives in Latin America, as the US$500 million figure represents more than double the amount of assets tokenized in Brazil in 2024.
The tokens issued by Liqi on the XDC Network will be backed by private credit, receivables, corporate debt, agribusiness investments and real estate assets. The offerings will initially be limited to companies operating in Brazil, with the intention of expanding to other markets.
The objective is to promote transparency, liquidity, on-chain traceability and democratization of access to financial instruments that were previously restricted.
Daniel Coquieri, founder and CEO of Liqi, said in a statement:
“We are structuring half a billion dollars in real-world assets directly on the XDC network. This is one of the largest institutional operations ever carried out in Latin America. We are connecting Brazil to the global flow of RWAs.”
Diego Consimo, head of XDC Network in Latin America, said:
“LIQI is one of the most prepared platforms in Latin America for the regulated issuance of RWAs. With this partnership, we are strengthening XDC as a reference infrastructure for financial applications, backed by real assets, with global liquidity and on-chain execution.”
CoinTelegraph Brasil InfoMoney
Drex and RWAs Tokenization Remain Central Bank Priorities
Rogerio Lucca, executive secretary of the Central Bank of Brasil, reaffirmed that Drex and tokenization of real-world assets will be priorities of the Bank’s innovation agenda over the next four years.
In a YouTube interview published on the bank’s channel, Lucca argued that both concepts are fundamental to the digitalization of the financial system because they expand and democratize access to credit.
He explained:
“Improving credit risk helps to unclog monetary policy and brings benefits to the entire financial system, from citizens to banking institutions. Access to better quality credit, with operations with more controlled risk and more robust guarantees, depends on the possibility of consumers being able to mobilize their properties and assets as collateral.”
Leaders of Braiscompany pyramid sentenced
Several members of the Braiscompany bitcoin pyramid scheme were convicted of money laundering, fraudulent management and irregular operation of a financial institution.
Recall that Braiscompany moved more than R$1 billion before collapsing in February 2023.
A federal court in Campina Grande sentenced three individuals involved in the operation. The largest was Joel Ferreira de Souza, who received 128 years in prison and confiscation of up to R$37 million worth of assets.
The founders of Braiscompany, Antonio Neto Eis and Fabricia Campos, remain in Argentina where they are waiting to be extradited to Brazil.
Portal do Bitcoin CoinDesk The Block
🗞Brazil Crypto News Rundown
📈 Markets
Nuclea obtained Central Bank authorization to be a central depository of financial assets, such as Bank Deposit Certificates, Bills of Exchange, Real Estate Credit Bills, and Financial Bills. The new service is part of the the company’s expanding solutions for capital markets, with an eye for incorporating tokenization. The CEO Andre Dare said in a statement:
“With the Central Depository, we are taking an important step forward in Núclea’s strategy of being a ‘one-stop shop’ for the financial sector. We will maintain the quality for which we are recognized in asset registration with scalability and competitiveness for the benefit of financial institutions and the capital market as a whole.” (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (CriptoFacil)
Funds lost via Pix scams totaled R$4.9 billion in 2024, up 70% year-over-year, according to Central Bank data obtained via a freedom of information act request. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Lucas Gabriel Marins of InfoMoney tells the story of how Mercado Bitcoin was able to reverse a stop order issued by the CVM last month. The exchange had been ordered to stop offering certain tokens deemed by the CVM to be securities.
Bloxs announced the separation of its crowdfunding arm, which will now operate independently under the ALTX brand led by Daniel Sabino, co-founder of Nano Capital. (BlockNews)
📲 Adoption
Sidney Levy, the president of Invest.Rio, says that Rio still claims the title of “Brazilian Cryptocurrency Capital” and is betting on the formation of a strong community in the city.
“The dream is for Rio to become the cryptocurrency capital of Brazil, but we recognize that it is not possible to do this without support and we are available to crypto entrepreneurs to work alongside them in building this dream.” (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
A pair of YouTubers uncovered that Brazilian bitcoin pioneer Daniel Fraga lived in Ribeirao Preto as recently as 2021. Fraga was an early bitcoin educator dating back to 2012, but hasn’t been seen or heard from since 2021 when he ran into problems with authorities. (Portal do Bitcoin) (Livecoins)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Brazil’s proposal to create a blockchain-based international transfer system is one of the SWIFT alternatives that BRICS nations are considering. He said during a press conference of the Commonwealth of Independent States:
“One of them is Brazil’s proposal to create an alternative payment platform, with work underway in this regard. I am confident that countries, even those outside BRICS, will have access to these mechanisms when they are created.” (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Cardano Foundation is partnering with Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro to promote blockchain research and development, specifically with regard to the energy sector with Petrobras. Frederik Gregaard, CEO of Cardano Foundation said:
“Education and innovation are at the heart of blockchain advancement. With partnerships like the one with PUC-Rio, we ensure that the next generation of developers, industry leaders, and regulators explore the full transformative potential of this technology, creating solutions with a positive impact on the real world.” (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (CriptoFacil)
Brazil’s government is planning to deploy R$5 billion in resources for developing quantum computing initiatives, per a proposal being prepared by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Management consultancy Kearney is using the Hathor blockchain to register compensation claims from the Fundão dam disaster in 2015, which happened near the city of Mariana in Minas Gerais. (Valor)
🏛 Policy, Regulation and Enforcement
Abracam, the Brazilian Exchange Association, is advocating for stablecoin legislation that would require stablecoins be issued exclusively by institutions authorized by the Central Bank. Bill 4308/2024, authored by Deputy Aureo Ribeiro, establishes that stablecoins may only be issued by authorized entities. (Valor) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Abracam is also planning a type of certification for companies that operate betting websites. (Valor) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
The Sao Paulo City Council is launching a formal commission of inquiry into Tools for Humanity — the company behind the World project. The commission will examine the company’s use of biometric data in exchange for cryptocurrency. Janaina Paschoal said:
"this CPI is of international interest, because our people's data was sent abroad. We need to understand the purpose of this." (Valor) (Portal do Bitcoin) (Exame) (BlockNews)
Brazil’s Central Bank opened an initial consultation on the regulation of services provided by digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Livecoins)
Civil Police of Rio Grande do Sul seized R$260,000 in cryptocurrencies from a criminal group that was extorting businesses in the state. (Portal do Bitcoin) (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Livecoins)
The Senate Sports Committee is considering bills that would prohibit advertising of fixed-odds betting services and bar the participation of athletes and celebrities in promoting these platforms. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)