#218: Brazil's taxman is coming for stablecoins

Plus: Binance supports new VASP regulations; BIS says Brazil doesn't need a CBDC

Olá pessoal!

Welcome back to Brazil Crypto Report for the week of November 23-27, 2025.

Apologies for being a bit delayed with this edition. Lots going on in my world at the moment so trying hard to stay on top of everything.

I hope everyone in the US had a great Thanksgiving holiday. It’s probably the only US holiday that I genuinely miss, but I did watch some football and eat some turkey so it was big win all around

🗞️ Top stories in this week’s edition:

• Former Central Bank president Campos Neto discusses the path forward for Drex

• BIS says Brazil doesn’t need a CBDC because it has Pix

• Finance Ministry confirms push IOF for stablecoins

• Binance speaks out in favor of VASP regulatory framework

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

- AWS

👊 Jump into the BCR English language Telegram group if you’d like to continue the conversation

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New Podcasts!

This week I spoke with Justin Norman, who is a content creator and filmmaker who explores how technology is impacting emerging markets. He recently spent several weeks in Latin America filming a YouTube docuseries about stablecoin adoption in Argentina and Bolivia.

Justin is an incredible storyteller, and I appreciate how he approaches the topic not as a crypto “homerist” but rather with a genuine interest to uncover what’s actually happening.

He has some unique and heterodox insights into what’s actually driving stablecoin adoption in this part of the world that aren’t always aligned with the typical crypto echo chamber talking points.

🙌 Also check out BCR on your preferred podcast platform YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts

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Campos Neto talks Drex revamp

Brazil’s former Central Bank president Roberto Campos Neto discussed the Drex overhaul in an interview with Perspectivas.

The former CBDC project is undergoing a major technical and structural overhaul after pilot tests showed that the original smart-contract-based architecture could not deliver privacy, scalability, and programmability at the same time.

He explained that the reworked version aims to resolve problems that could not be addressed at the smart contract level by incorporating them into the “chain base”. In other words, the goal is to address privacy, permissioning and scalability at the base layer of the protocol and not at the smart contract layer.

He said:

“Today, a technology is being developed that, instead of solving [the problems] at the smart contract level, solves them at the level of what we call the ‘chain base,’ at the base layer of the blockchain.”

This new approach is closer to what Singapore and Hong Kong adopted, using techniques like private transactions, zero-knowledge proofs, and modular data segregation to embed privacy and permissioning directly into the network infrastructure.

BIS: Brazil doesn’t need a CBDC

A new study by Bank for International Settlements argues that Pix, Brazil’s instant-payments system, already delivers the core benefits of a central-bank digital currency, such that issuing a retail CBDC would be redundant.

The BIS study, titled “Competing digital monies,” suggests that in countries with fast, widely adopted payment infrastructure like Pix, a retail CBDC adds little incremental value.

The authors argue that because the payment and settlement functions are already met by existing systems, a new form of money issued by the central bank would merely duplicate existing services — without delivering meaningful additional user benefits.

CoinTelegraph Brasil Portal do Bitcoin

Finance Ministry confirms push IOF for stablecoins

Brazil’s Ministry of Finance signaled that it intends to move forward with collecting IOF financial transactions taxes on cryptocurrency transactions.

The ministry’s executive secretary Dario Duggan said that its economic team will “deliver the regulation and taxation of crypto assets,” but that the decision still depends on a normative act from the Receita Federal - Brazil’s tax authority.

He emphasized that the objective is to close existing loopholes used to evade taxes on international transactions using cryptocurrency.

Duggan said during a press conference:

“Without a doubt, from a merit-based point of view, it is a topic worth addressing. We will deliver the taxation and regulation of crypto assets, yes, this is deserved.”

Industry players, including Coinbase, have publicly stated that they will petition the ministry to not impose these taxes.

Portal do Bitcoin CriptoFacil Valor Valor CoinTelegraph Brasil

Binance speaks out in favor of VASP regulatory framework

The VASP regulatory framework unveiled by Brazil’s Central Bank last month was more favorable than Binance had been anticipating, particularly in the sense that its biggest fear had always been that the exchange’s order book would be considered part of the foreign exchange market.

Guilherme Nazar, Binance’s head of Latam, explained to Valor:

“From a very cold and technical perspective, the regulation clearly shows the BC’s sensitivity to various requests from Binance or other platforms.”

“For a player of Binance’s size and relevance, in any aspect that has become more rigid, we have been able to make the necessary adjustments, but I think it will have a different impact on smaller platforms. An almost prohibitive impact depending on the scope and size.”

Galipolo talk stablecoins at XP event

Central Bank president Gabriel Galipolo appeared to dismiss some of the hype around stablecoins during an appearance at an event hosted by XP Investimentos.

“Any discussion of stablecoins or Central Banking Digital Currency (CBDC), when you look at the problem you are proposing to solve, it seems to me that Pix solved it in a more elegant way.”

He added that as long as the token does not pay interest, “it remains somewhat distant from fulfilling the functions of what we call money.”

He stressed that there’s a big difference between people who want to use these assets to make daily transactions and those who desire a certain level of privacy or opacity.

“When you start buying a helicopter, buying a speedboat with a stablecoin, you think: wow, that’s strange, you have a suspicion there. I think that those who are serious in the field don’t want that, that has to be kept away and regulated.”

Valor CoinTelegraph Brasil

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🗞Brazil Crypto News Rundown

📈 Markets

• OranjeBTC disclosed on-chain proof of reserves showing it holds 3,720.3 bitcoins in its treasury. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Portal do Bitcoin)

• The Central Bank approved official tests for a digital-credit system called Duplicata Escritural, which could pave the way for up to R$ 10 trillion in tokenized real-world assets. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (CriptoFacil)

• XP Asset announced the launch of new ETFs in Brazil tracking Bitcoin and Ethereum. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Fenynx has launched on the B3 platform to offer hybrid credit solutions in Brazil, allowing individuals and companies to secure loans starting at R$50,000 using bitcoin, stablecoins, and tokenized assets as collateral. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Mynt, BTG Pactual’s crypto platform, rolled out new features including a direct crypto-to-crypto converter, themed investment portfolios, and a personalized advisory service. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Valor)

• Brazilian crypto users face a hard decision between declaring their crypto holdings to the Receita Federal and accepting the risk of data exposure, leaks and surveillance, or staying “underground” and avoiding centralized entities or other means that trigger official reporting and the associated legal and tax penalties, argued a panel of experts at Blockchain Conference Brasil. (Portal do Bitcoin)

• The 2025 Libertadores final between Palmeiras and Flamengo triggered massive surges in fan-token activity, with $MENGO trading volume jumping 12,900% and $VERDÃO rising 775% ahead of the match. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Speaking at Blockchain Conference Brazil, BlackRock’s Brazilian executive Cristiano Castro said that the firm’s spot-Bitcoin ETFs have become its single biggest source of revenue. (Portal do Bitcoin)

📲 Adoption

• Tomasz K. Stanczak, co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, praised Brazil’s Pix instant payments system during a recent visit to the country for Eth Latam.

“Pix is ​​a global benchmark. When you combine it with Ethereum, you have the best of both worlds.” (Portal do Bitcoin)

• Argentinian fintech Belo has quietly launched a beta in Brazil, offering IOF-free international payments and an interoperable QR code that lets Brazilians pay at any merchant in Argentina using pesos or USDC, with no local account or documents required. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Pedro Guerra, advisor to Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, said at Blockchain Conference Brazil that he has met with Brazilian crypto exchanges to discuss the topic of a bitcoin reserve.

“I recently had a meeting with some brokers to discuss the idea of ​​a strategic Bitcoin reserve. There was a convergence around something important: we cannot be obsessed with fixed theses. We need flexibility. If one path doesn’t work, we should try alternatives that are more palatable and understandable. And several reflections have emerged along these lines.” (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Traditional banks are poised to dominate the stablecoin market, argued SmartPay CEO Rocelo Lopes at the Blockchain Conference Brazil, who said their scale, governance, and public trust will allow them to “steal” users from exchanges, wallets, and fintechs as stablecoins become the core rails of the global digital economy. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Mercado Bitcoin has partnered with NGO Gerando Falcões to launch a tokenized real-world asset initiative that aims to raise R$ 3.6 million for community infrastructure while offering investors an 8% annual return. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Mercado Bitcoin has appointed Lucas Lopes as new president of its Brazil operations. He will be responsible for a growth push aimed at boosting its customer base from 4 million to 25 million and reaching R$ 400 billion in transaction volume by 2030. Reinaldo Rabelo will shift his focus to expanding the company’s European operations. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Portal do Bitcoin) (Valor) (Exame)

• Bitget Wallet has launched a zero-fee crypto debit card in Brazil that lets users pay with stablecoins like USDT/USDC in reals via Pix rails. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Mercado Bitcoin launched a new class of tokenized digital debt instruments tied to the government-backed housing program Minha Casa Minha Vida that allow everyday investors to gain exposure to Brazilian real-estate financing without buying property directly. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Base has revealed plans to expand its blockchain presence in Brazil, aiming to attract developers, startups, creators and users to build on its network and accelerate adoption of on-chain applications across the country. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Brazil’s Central Bank overhauled how it records crypto in its balance of payments, reclassifying bitcoin and stablecoins in line with the IMF’s new guidelines. This move retroactively shifting billions of dollars’ worth of flows from the capital account to the financial account to distinguish assets with and without an issuer. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Valor)

• A new survey by ABCripto and PwC Brazil whos 80% of companies in Brazil see cryptocurrencies as “the most powerful technology on the market,” while 90% still point to unclear regulation as the main barrier to broader adoption. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

🏛 Policy, Regulation and Enforcement

• A new law was passed establishing a 90-day window for taxpayers to regularize undeclared cryptocurrency assets under what’s called the Special Regime for Asset Update and Regularization (Rearp). The new legislation offers criminal amnesty for previously hidden assets in exchange for a 30% total levy (comprising a 15% tax and a 100% fine), aiming to integrate off-the-books crypto wealth into the formal tax system. (Livecoins) (Portal do Bitcoin)

• Federal Deputy Áureo Ribeiro called the newly introduced 30% tax on previously undeclared crypto assets “horrible,” arguing the burden makes the regularization unattractive and undermines the goal of bringing assets back under formalization. He said:

“It’s horrible. Out of reality. The person who wants to repatriate money won’t do it under these conditions… And the government expects people to bring money back to Brazil? It doesn’t make sense.” (Portal do Bitcoin) (Valor) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• Military police in Rio de Janeiro uncovered a clandestine crypto-mining operation in Campos dos Goytacazes alongside a pirate-TV scheme. They seized multiple high-power mining rigs and investigating possible electricity theft and crypto-fraud. (Portal do Bitcoin)

• ABCripto’s president Bernardo Srur said he will comply with a court order and call an Extraordinary General Assembly to elect a new board or renew the current mandate, as requested by members who challenged his presidency. (Portal do Bitcoin) (CriptoFacil) (Valor)

• Valor reports that several ABCripto members have left the organization amid a leadership dispute. GCB, Itau, Coinbase, Liqi and Avenia have left the group, according to six sources interviewed. (Portal do Bitcoin)

• Overtaxing the cryptocurrency market in Brazil is akin to “killing the goose that lays the golden eggs,” Senator Jorge Seif said at the Blockchain Conference Brasil.

“Brazil has already lost important positions on the global stage because of too many taxes and too much regulation.

“A market with so much capacity to make Brazilians prosper cannot be brought down by such a wasteful government.”

“While other nations protect those who invest in the long term, Brazil wanted to tax everyone without exception.” (Valor)

• Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice ruled favorably for Mercado Bitcoin in the long-running “Bitcoin Rain” case, rejecting investors’ claim for restitution in bitcoin at current market value (exceeding R$1 billion). The decision says the exchange must instead pay compensation in reals, calculated based on the Bitcoin’s value at the time of the 2013 fraud, thereby avoiding a massive financial obligation for the exchange. (Livecoins)

• New legislation in the Chamber of Deputies aims to establish the first specific legal framework for stablecoins, mandating 100% segregated and auditable collateral for issuers and placing supervision under the Central Bank. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)

• The CVM has ordered an immediate halt to all operations by FXNovus in Brazil. It determined the firm was offering crypto and other financial services without the required authorization, effectively banning any solicitation to Brazilian investors. (CriptoFacil)

• A 42-year-old woman, who had been a fugitive since January, was arrested in Rio Grande do Norte for orchestrating a cryptocurrency scam that promised victims up to 20% monthly returns. (Portal do Bitcoin)