#197: Meliuz becomes Latam's largest bitcoin treasury company
Plus: Congress overturns IOF tax decree; Hashdex to launch BTC/gold ETF
Olá pessoal!
Welcome back to Brazil Crypto Report for the week of June 23-27, 2025.
I had the privilege of participating in the Blockchain on the Road university tour last week, organized by Francisco Carvalho and Blockchain Rio. There was a big turnout at the University of Brasilia of students and faculty interested in learning more about how to get involved in the crypto economy.
On that note, be sure to mark your calendars for Blockchain Rio 2025, which takes place August 5-7 in Rio. It has become the largest blockchain event in the region with a heavy presence of both locals and gringos. BCR is excited to be a media partner for this event!
📰 Top Stories this Week
Meliuz buys US$28.6 million in bitcoin, becomes Latam’s largest bitcoin treasury company
Hashdex and Buena Vista Capital to launch hybrid bitcoin/gold ETF
CVM looks to increase token crowdfunding limit under Resolution 88
Criminal gangs are using fintechs, betting platforms and crypto
Central Bank opens public consultation on virtual asset accounting
Chamber of Deputies overturns Lula’s IOF tax decree
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
- AWS
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This week’s interview is with Caio Barbosa, founder and CEO of Lumx. We talk about Lumx’s journey from a Web3-as-a-service provider to asset tokenizer to building infrastructure for cross-border stablecoin payments.
Backed by BTG Pactual, Lumx has become one of Brazil’s leading Web3 startups and is becoming a major player in the cross-border money movement realm. We talk about Caio’s background as a UX designer and the importance of user and developer experience in a space as commoditized as payments. I encourage you to have a listen!
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Meliuz buys US$28.6 million in bitcoin, becomes Latam’s largest bitcoin treasury company
The fintech turned bitcoin treasury company acquired 275.53 bitcoins at an average price of US$103,864 per coin.
With the purchase, Meliuz now holds 595.67 units of the token. It has surpassed Mercado Libre as the largest public bitcoin treasury company in Latin America, and is now the 38th largest in the world, according to a tweet published by CEO Israel Salmen.
Valor Exame Livecoins Portal do Bitcoin CriptoFacil InfoMoney
Hashdex and Buena Vista Capital to launch hybrid bitcoin/gold ETF
The fund will be listed on Brazil’s B3 stock exchange on July 29th, and will exist to serve investors who wish to protect themselves from macro events like exchange rate volatility and inflation.
“The combination of gold and Bitcoin will serve as an alternative asset protection for unstable economic scenarios,” the companies stated in an announcement.
GBTC11, as it will be known, will follow the FTSE Bitcoin and Gold Risk Weighted index. The offering will be coordinated by Itau BBA and Genial Institucional, with an estimated value per share of R$30.
Renato Nobile, manager at Buena Vista Capital said in a statement:
“Our proposal with GBTC11 was to transform a thesis that is well-established among global institutional investors into an accessible alternative for local investors. It is a product that translates, with simplicity and discipline, a sophisticated strategy of diversification and preservation of value.”
Henry Oyama, director of investment strategies at Hashdex, added:
“In a scenario of uncertainty, GBTC11 offers a sophisticated response to the investor. By combining exposure to two assets – one recognized for its resilience in adverse economic cycles and another emerging one, Bitcoin, which has shown great growth and global acceptance –, we deliver a robust tool not only for wealth preservation, but also with potential of appreciation. All of this with the security of governance, liquidity and regulation.”
Portal do Bitcoin CriptoFacil Valor BlockNews
CVM looks to increase token crowdfunding limit under Resolution 88
Brazil’s securities regulator is looking to reform Resolution 88, which deals with crowdfunding rules, to reflect new realities of tokenized financial asset offerings.
Specifically, the agency looks to increase the current R$15 million limit for crowdfunding raises.
Speaking at the Anbima Summit 2025 event in Sao Paulo, Bruno Gomes — superintendent of securitization and agribusiness, said:
“The increase in the limit is ripe, we will increase it from the current R$15 million, but we cannot say by how much.”
In 2024, crowdfunding offerings totaled R$1.4 billion, propelled by fixed income and receivables tokens.
Criminal gangs are using fintechs, betting platforms and crypto
Criminal groups in Brazil are using online betting, crypto and fintech platforms for sophisticed money laundering, according to a new report from the Esfera Institute of Studies and Innovation called “Money Laundering and Combating Organized Crime in Brazil”.
The report uses data from the Financial Activities Control Council (COAF) to show that these new types of financial platforms that operate in regulatory grey areas are the most used by criminal groups.
It states that these mediums “have been progressively exploited by criminal organizations for the purpose of moving and hiding illicit resources, challenging traditional financial control and oversight mechanisms.”
For example, the report notes that the PCC gang moved more than R$300 million using sports gambling platforms in April 2024 alone.
The report suggests that “Pharaoh of Bitcoins” Glaidson Acacio dos Santos likely shared information about how to launder money using crypto with leaders of the PCC and Comando Vermelho factions while in prison.
Valor CoinTelegraph Brasil CriptoFacil
Central Bank opens public consultation on virtual asset accounting
Brazil’s Central Bank is seeking public input on accounting rules for virtual assets, including recognition, measurement, write-off and disclosure rules.
The new standard would aim to regulate how financial institutions treat cryptocurrencies on their books, and aims to increase transparency, comparability and quality of accounting information related to these assets.
The consultation will be open for comments until August 24.
Valor CriptoFacil Portal do Bitcoin Livecoins
Chamber of Deputies overturns Lula’s IOF tax decree
Brazil’s Congress dealt a blow to the Lula government’s attempts to increase the IOF financial transactions tax to meet its 2025 fiscal targets.
While the IOF portion of the overturned decree would not have directly impacted the crypto market, it would have made US dollars more expensive by increasing the tax on them to 3.5%
There were questions about the viability of using stablecoins as a way to circumvent this tax since the IOF only applies to conversions into fiat currency. Thus, the proposed tax increase served to stimulate significant demand for stablecoins as a cross-border transfer vehicle.
🗞Brazil Crypto News Rundown
📈 Markets
Bruno Barino, CEO of Blackrock Brazil, spoke to Valor about the uptake in interest in crypto products across its portfolio:
“We understand that it makes a lot of sense to allocate up to 2% of the portfolio in an ETF like IBIT [BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF in the US]. It's the fastest-growing ETF in history and has US$60 billion in assets. People are buying and many people aren't seeing it. Sometimes it's better to understand people's investment profile and deal with reality.”
Webull is partnering with Coinbase to launch crypto offerings in Brazil. 245 assets will be offered in the first phase. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
📲 Adoption
Multicurrency payments platform Wirex announced the launch of an appchain on the Tanssi network to process payments and currency conversions between Brazil, Europe and other corridors. (Valor)
Blockchain specialist and futurist Glen Weyl spoke to Curitiba mayor Eduardo Pimentel about the creation of a new digital platform that improves communication between the population and public sector. (Livecoins)
🏛 Policy, Regulation and Enforcement
Binance was ordered to pay half of the funds lost by a Brazilian client using the exchange’s derivatives platform. A civil court judge in Goiania argued that Binance should have had more efficient systems to prevent Brazilian residents from accessing its derivatives platform. (Portal do Bitcoin) (Livecoins)
Mercado Bitcoin owes R$52.2 million in service taxes to the city of Sao Paulo dating back to 2021, according to a report from Livecoins.
A new stablecoin bill that would create a legal framework for the asset class has advanced in the Chamber of Deputies. (Livecoins)
Civil Police in Sao Paulo dismantled a crypto pyramid investing scheme that promised 10% monthly returns. (Portal do Bitcoin)
Federal Deputy Luiz Philippe de Orleans e Bragança requested a formal hearing to debate legislation that would establish a strategic bitcoin reserve in Brazil. (Livecoins)
Portions of several Brazilian football players’ salaries were stolen and routed into cryptocurrencies, according to a Civil Police investigation. (Livecoins)
Federal Police launched Operation Descargo to combat electronics smuggling on the border of Rio Grande do Sul and Uruguay involving cryptocurrencies. (Livecoins)
The CVM issued a public warning about irregular activities of Digital Smart LLC, an exchange operating in Brazil offering crypto products. (CriptoFacil)