#221: B3 to launch its own stablecoin in 2026
Plus: Coinbase's Julia Rosin is elected president of ABCripto; Helium to bring decentralized mobile network to Brazil
Olá pessoal!
Welcome back to Brazil Crypto Report for the week of December 15-19, 2025
I hope everyone is having a great finish to the year. The Brazil market has definitely turned a corner and is now advancing into significantly more mature and institutionalized operating environment in 2026. We’ll be here to cover all of the relevant developments.
Quick housekeeping note: I might be reducing the frequency of newsletter publishing over the coming weeks depending on news flow.
Wishing everyone a great Christmas and holiday season!
🗞️ Top stories in this week’s edition:
Buena Vista Capital launches ETH ETF on B3
Coinbase’s Julia Rosin elected as ABCripto’s next president
B3 to launch its own stablecoin in 2026
Helium to bring decentralized mobile connectivity to Brazil
Finance Minister Haddad talks IOF on stablecoins yet again
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
- AWS
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New Podcasts!
This week’s episode is with John Delaney, CEO and co-founder of Crown. Crown is the issuer of the BRLV stablecoin and recently closed a US$13.5 million funding round led by Paradigm.
BRLV has quickly become a major player in Brazil’s stablecoin market after launching earlier this year, with more than 360 million tokens in circulation.
John explains Crown’s approach to capturing yield in a high interest rate environment. Unlike traditional models, BRLV shares yield with institutional partners through a unique architectural design.
He also discusses Crown’s ambitious vision of reaching one trillion BRLV in circulation in 10 years’ time.
🙌 Also check out BCR on your preferred podcast platform YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Coinbase’s Julia Rosin elected as ABCripto’s next president
Rosin, Coinbase’s head of policy for Latin America, was elected to be the next president of ABCripto, Brazil’s longest-running crypto lobby group.
Rosin said:
“I thank each member for their trust and, first of all, I would like to thank Bernardo Srur and the entire board for the work done so far.”
She emphasized that reforming the organization’s governance structure will be a key priority following a series of controversies atop the organization. She said:
“We will institute clear, transparent, and auditable processes in all areas of the association. Our management will be guided by ethics and administrative excellence, ensuring that ABcripto itself is an example of the best practices we advocate for the market.”
With Rosin’s election, ABCripto officially closed a legal dispute against four of its board members accusing them of undemocratically trying to force a leadership change.
B3 to launch its own stablecoin
Brazil’s stock exchange announced at its “B3 Day” that it intends to launch its own stablecoin in the first half of 2026, positioning itself to fill the void left by the scaling back of the Drex project - which sought to create a settlement asset for Brazil’s tokenized economy.
The rationale is to ensure that tokenized assets in B3’s depository will be fungible with traditional assets.
Luiz Masagão, VP of Products and Clients, explained:
“All the liquidity that currently exists in our central trading books can be used by those who do not yet hold the token.”
This synergy between the two technologies will create a scenario:
“where you can have players operating in a traditional technological model, players operating in a tokenized technological model, and both benefiting from the same liquidity.”
Masagão insisted that the stablecoin will be bolstered by the full faith and credit of the B3 institution:
It will be a safe asset with the backing and name of B3 guaranteeing that the collateral of this stablecoin will be as well protected as all the other financial assets we have here in Brazil.”
Valor Portal do Bitcoin Exame InfoMoney CoinTelegraph Brasil
Buena Vista Capital launches ETH ETF on B3
ETHY11 offers exposure to Ethereum and provides monthly dividend distribution to its shareholders.
Its strategy is based on the price per variation of Ethereum via the ETF that serves as the basis for the index while generating a monthly income stream through the call and put options market - ie the “covered call” strategy.
Renato Nobile, manager and analyst at Buena Vista Capital, explained:
“the dividend comes from Ethereum call options.” “It’s what we call a Covered Call, a covered sale, which doesn’t generate more risk; on the contrary, it protects the portfolio. And every time we launch these options, a premium is received.”
He further explained that the annual target is around 30% profitability “which is quite high because Ethereum’s volatility is very high, even higher than bitcoin’s.”
“Ethereum’s price dynamics are distinct from traditional classes. ETHY11 allows adding this exposure within a structure that generates monthly income.”
Valor Portal do Bitcoin CoinTelegraph Brasil Livecoins
Helium to bring decentralized mobile connectivity to Brazil
The Solana-based DePIN protocol announced a partnership with Mambo WiFi, a Brazilian company, as part of the project’s international expansion with the goal of creating a user-powered mobile coverage network in the country.
Mambo currently has 40,000 WiFi access points distributed across the country. This will serve as the starting point for the joint venture. Helium will allow telecomms operators to use the system to offload a portion of their mobile data traffic to the network
Mario Di Dio, general manager of network at Helium, said:
“Our collaboration with Mambo represents a significant milestone in the international expansion of Helium Network. Together, we are tackling the telecommunications market in Brazil and inaugurating a new model, in which networks built by people offer accessible and reliable coverage at scale.”
Mambo WiFi CEO Katie Angelo Pierozzi said in a statement:
“Our 40,000 access points will serve as the base for the Helium Network in Brazil, allowing local operators to adopt this decentralized connectivity model and help reduce the historical internet access gap in the country.”
Portal do Bitcoin CoinTelegraph Brasil
Haddad again signals intent to impose IOF tax on stablecoins
In response to a question during a press conference, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad did not specify any concrete measures but reiterated that IOF on stablecoins is being considered as part of a menu of options to increase revenues in 2026.
He said that after the Central Bank released its VASP regulations last month, the Finance Ministry took it upon itself to look into regulating crypto and now has a team devoted to studying the topic.
🗞Brazil Crypto News Rundown
📈 Markets
Chiliz is using Decentral, a DeFi protocol powered by Dux, to provide football clubs with faster access to liquidity from media and commercial contracts. It allows clubs to tokenize future receivables like broadcasting rights and use them as onchain collateral. (CoinDesk) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
A new survey by Visa found that 64% of Brazilians would be excited to receive cryptocurrencies as a Christmas gift, 10% of respondents already consider digital assets a viable gifting option for the holiday season, and 65% said they are likely to use stablecoins for international remittances. (Portal do Bitcoin)
The five most traded cryptocurrencies by Brazilians in 2025 were Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP, according to new data from Mercado Bitcoin. (Portal do Bitcoin)
Portal do Bitcoin explores the six largest Brazilian real-pegged stablecoins.
Crypto.com and Galapagos Capital, a global investment firm with over R$ 32 billion under management, announced a strategic partnership to expand digital asset offerings in Brazil and Latin America. (Livecoins)
Stablecoins pegged to local currencies are projected to move R$32 billion in Latin America by the end of this year, according to a report by Rodrigo Trindade of Iporanga Ventures. Brazil is the regional leader, accounting for 69% of this volume, making the Brazilian Real the third-largest stablecoin market globally, trailing only the US Dollar and the Euro. (Portal do Bitcoin)
📲 Adoption
Smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi announced a partnership with the Sei network to integrate a native crypto wallet into its future smartphones in Brazil and other key global markets. (CriptoFacil)
Bitpanda Technology Solutions partnering with Banco BS2, marking its first banking partnership in Latin America. Through this collaboration, BS2 will integrate BTS's institutional-grade infrastructure, starting with Fusion, Bitpanda’s advanced trading and liquidity platform. (Livecoins)
Tech-as-a-service firm HOUS3 has partnered with infrastructure provider Utila to accelerate the adoption of secure digital asset custody and stablecoin payment solutions in Brazil. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
The Tribunal de Contas do Estado de São Paulo is launching Brazil's first public real estate auction with all documentation and procedural history fully registered on a blockchain. (Portal do Bitcoin) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Researchers at the University of São Paulo have proposed the creation of ₿itUSP, an internal cryptocurrency designed to tokenize the university's budget credits and track internal transactions. (Portal do Bitcoin) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Bradesco has launched a digital identity pilot powered by blockchain technology. It aims to cut the average time for credit card applications by more than 50% by streamlining the onboarding process and increasing conversion rates by utilizing authenticated digital credentials. (Portal do Bitcoin)
Mobiup and Fact Finance are now including proof of reserves data for Brazilian stablecoins in the RWA Monitor platform. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (BlockNews)
Z.ro Bank has announced Sergio Massa as CEO of Z.ro Digital Assets, a new vertical which will focus on international transfer and dispersion of resources. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
🏛 Policy, Regulation and Enforcement
The Central Bank’s new rule which classifies a transfer of a crypto asset to a self custody wallet as a “foreign exchange operation” has no international parallel and effectively treats the simple act of holding one's own digital assets as a taxable currency exchange event, argue experts interviewed by CoinTelegraph Brasil
The Civil Police of Santa Catarina has officially included bitcoin tracking and cryptocurrency investigation as mandatory subjects in its latest public entrance exam. (Livecoins)
Portal do Bitcoin published a handy 2025 year in review of Brazil crypto regulatory developments.
The Civil Police of Sao Paulo arrested eight members of a gang that extorted R$ 300,000 in Bitcoin from an entrepreneur after holding him hostage in his office. (Portal do Bitcoin) (Livecoins)
A 48-year-old man was arrested in Cravinhos, Sao Paulo after posing as a Federal Police agent to attempt a R$ 9 million cryptocurrency extortion from a 67-year-old entrepreneur. (Portal do Bitcoin)
The Economic Development Commission of the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that authorizes major banks to establish International Banking Units in Brazil. These units will be explicitly allowed to use cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets in international financial and exchange operations for non-resident clients. (Portal do Bitcoin) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Federal Deputy Amom Mandel introduced a bill proposing the creation of the Moeda Social Digital Governamental, a government-backed cryptocurrency designed specifically for social benefit payments. (Portal do Bitcoin) (Livecoins)
The São Paulo Civil Police launched “Operation Cryptonita” to dismantle a group suspected of extorting R$300,000 in bitcoin from a victim in November 2024. The operation involved nine temporary arrest warrants and eight search and seizure warrants, resulting in the arrest of eight individuals.
Brazil’s government submitted a new bill to Congress to create a National System for Development, Regulation, and Governance of Artificial Intelligence. The proposal aims to correct a procedural flaw in the previous AI Regulatory Framework by establishing the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) as the primary body responsible for coordinating and supervising AI norms in unregulated sectors. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
An AI Regulatory Framework bill in the Chamber of Deputies could be brought to a floor vote by the end of 2025. The legislation aims to establish legal certainty and a “window of opportunity” for Brazil to become a global hub for AI data processing and technology production, leveraging the country’s abundant energy resources. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Federal District police launched the third phase of Operation Sem Reservas against a group that cloned hotel websites to steal funds of potential customers and then funneled the money to exchange houses in Paraguay. (Livecoins)