🇧🇷BCR 34 (Part 2/3): B3 Says "Oi" to Web3 and NFT ETFs
🇧🇷BCR 34 (Part 2/3): B3 Says "Oi" to Web3 and NFT ETFs
Hello again,
Welcome to part two of this week’s 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report. Here we’re breaking down the key markets and adoption related news of the last couple weeks. TLDR is there’s a lot. If you’re just tuning for the first time, don’t forget to smash the subscribe button below.
Tchau tchau,
Aaron
🗞Brazil Crypto News Rundown 🗞
📈 Markets
Crypto asset manager Hashdex will launch its WEB311 ETF for trading on March 30th on the B3 Exchange.
The fund was developed in partnership with CF Benchmarks and will invest in the native assets of smart contract platforms, with initial allocations in Ethereum (22.5%), Cardano (22.5%), Solana (22.1%), Polkadot (19.5%), Algorand (8.8%), Tezos (3.5%) and Cosmos (1.1%).
Banco Genial, Itaú BBA, XP Investimentos and BTG Pactual will coordinate the offering
The fund will be Hashdex’s fifth cryptocurrency ETF to launch in Brazil
The initial fund share price will be R$50 and will carry an administration fee of 1.3% (Estadao) (Valor Investe) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Another new ETF focused on NFTs and the metaverse is also queued up to launch on the B3 on March 29
The NFTS11 ETF, issued by Investo, will track the MVIS CryptoCompare Media & Entertainment Index.
Cryptocurrencies included in the ETF are Decentraland (MANA), The Sandbox (SAND), Axie Infinity (AXS), GALA, Basic Attention Token (BAT), Chiliz (CHZ) and Enjin (ENJ).
The ETF will carry a 0.75% management fee and be coordi
nated by BTG Pactual and Nu Invest, with the participation of Modal Mais and Vitreo (InfoMoney) (Cointelegraph Brasil)
Banco do Brasil, Brazil’s second largest bank by total assets, is launching a crypto asset fund for accredited investors.
BB Multimercado Criptoativos Full IE will invest in crypto ETFs and international crypto funds.
The fund will require a minimum initial investment of R$1,000 (US$200) and is restricted to investors with at least $R1m (US$200k) in total investments.
It will carry an annual performance fee of 20% in excess of the BRR index.
Eduardo Villela, executive manager of funding and investments at Banco do Brasil, said in a statement:
“The crypto market is still new to many investors, even among the qualified ones, due to its specificity, in addition to its high volatility. But, at the same time, it is in this scenario that opportunities may arise for those willing to take on a little more risk in part of their portfolio” (Valor Investe) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
The Banco24Horas network has processed more than R$3m ($US600k) in cryptocurrency withdrawals across its 24,000 ATMs since launching in late 2020. The ATMs use Tecban equipment and multi-currency digital bank Capitual to process the withdrawals using the HubDigital platform. (Exame) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Mercado Bitcoin listed 12 new cryptocurrencies for trading. They include Lido DAO (LDO), Synapses (SYN, Rarible (RARI), Illuvium (ILV), Rally (RLY), TrueFi (TRU), Ocean Protocol (OCEAN), Aragon (ANT), Liquity (LQTY) and Perpetual Protocol (PERP). The exchange also listed two new fan tokens for Palmeiras and Sport Club Internacional - $VERDÃO and $SACI, respectively. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Portal do Bitcoin)
Crypto asset manager Hashdex is including Axie Infinity (AXS) and The Sandbox (SAND) tokens into the composition of its HASH11 crypto ETF - the second largest ETF in Brazil as measured by total assets. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Hashdex’s HASH11 and DEFI11 ETFs are among the top 5 most purchased ETFs on the B3 exchange by Brazilian investors this year, per a survey by Teva Indexes. In the period surveyed, HASH11 - Brazil’s second largest ETF by total shareholders - raised R$101m (US$20m), while DEFI11 brought in R$57m (US$11m). Gabriel Verea of Teva Indexes commented:
"What we see with this survey is that people are looking for more direct, more specific investment theses. Investors are less generalist and this is also part of the evolution of the ETF market itself". (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
2TM Group, owner of Mercado Bitcoin, acquired Wuzu - a fintech linked to CapTable group.
Wuzu has developed a token issuance platform and systems for companies and funds to operationalize and register their assets on the blockchain.
The platform is used to issue and manage ReitBZ, a token backed by shares of an equity investment fund.
The acquisition strengthens 2TM’s position as a provider of crypto infrastructure solutions, both in Brazil and abroad. (MoneyTimes) (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Portal do Bitcoin)
Argentina-based crypto exchange Lemon Cash has opened operations in Brazil, launching a beta version for 10,000 users to buy and sell cryptos via Pix. It also plans to hire 60 Brazil-based employees and introduce a credit card in partnership with Visa. (CoinDesk)
Avenue Securities, an American brokerage founded by Brazilians, is now available in Brazil, offering trading in more than 30 cryptos. The exchange also offers an integration with American bank accounts via its debit card product. Roberto Lee, CEO and founder of Avenue, commented:
“Avenue has been connecting Brazilians to world markets in recent years, and this is another remarkable step in our history, now allowing Brazilians access to more and more truly global financial products and services.” (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Bitcoin trading on Brazilian exchanges fell by more than 50% in February year-over-year, per data from Cointrader Monitor.
Just 18,031 bitcoins were traded in February 2022, down from 36,168 in February 2021.
The total volume measured in reals was down 58% during the same period.
Bitcoin trading in Brazil was also down for the fourth consecutive month in February 2022, retreating 11.7% from January.
Binance continues to dominate total bitcoin trading in the Brazilian market, accounting for 38% of total volume during February.
February 24 was the busiest trading day by nearly a factor of 2x. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Bitcoin was the best performing asset for Brazilian investors in February, registering monthly gains above 8%. The gains come despite the appreciation of the real against the dollar over the same period. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Binance enabled 15 new cryptocurrencies for purchase in Brazil via credit card. (Portal do Bitcoin)
Mercado Bitcoin became the first Brazilian exchange to list ApeCoin, the airdropped coin native to the Bored Ape Yacht Club community. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Fintech app BlueBenx is launching an app with an integrated service for buying and selling crypto using reals. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
The Rio de Janeiro government is looking to create a carbon credits trading exchange, in partnership with NASDAQ. A letter of intent was signed to open the Global Environmental Asset Platform in 2022. Pedro Paulo Carvalho, municipal secretary of finance, commented:
"The objective is not to compete with the traditional stock market in São Paulo, but to seek this market for sustainable financial assets and also for cryptoassets." (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
📱Adoption
Mercado Bitcoin agreed to a two year sponsorship with Vasco da Gama, the Rio-based football club. The Mercado Bitcoin logo will be featured on the jersey sleeve of Vasco’s professional and under-20 teams. (Portal do Bitcoin) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Bitso ran a crypto giveaway promotion during the Paulista tournament game between São Paulo and Palmeiras. SPFC players had a QR code fixed to the sleeve of their jersey which, when scanned, gave fans R$50 to buy bitcoin or another crypto on the exchange. Bitso and SPFC announced a formal three year sponsorship agreement in January. (MoneyTimes) (Portal do Bitcoin)
Binance minted and put up for auction NFTs representing each of the goals from the Palmeiras and Corinthians match from the Campeonato Paulista. However, the initiative received relatively low demand given the broader NFT craze. The three goal NFTs received just 29, 16 and 17 bids, respectively. (MoneyTimes)
Cauã Reymond, a popular actor on the Globo network, is part of a new trio of ambassadors for Bitso in Brazil, along with journalist and TV personality Fernanda Gentil and political commentator Gabriela Prioli. Cauã’s re-entry into the crypto market raised eyebrows given that he was one of the faces of the infamous Atlas Quantum pyramid scheme dating back to 2018. (Portal do Bitcoin)
Mercado Pago, the fintech arm of Mercado Livre, reached 1 million cryptocurrency users just two months after enabling crypto trading for clients in Brazil. The company also announced a “CryptoAnimals” marketing campaign in Brazil to commemorate the milestone. Tulio Oliveira, vice president at Mercado Pago, commented:
“We have seen real democratization, with users starting to operate from small amounts, and starting to experience cryptocurrencies for the first time. We see great potential for financial inclusion.” (Exame) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Oxio, a Mexico-based Telecom-as-a-service platform that tokenizes mobile data, raised US$40m in a Series B funding round to expand its services into Brazil. It offers a white-label product that allows anyone to launch a mobile service and serve as a mobile operator, allowing for cheaper and broader access to mobile data services. (CoinDesk)
Mercado Bitcoin Digital Assets released the Vila Token, the official royalty token of the Santos Football Club. Token holders are entitled to a portion of the royalties paid out under the FIFA Solidarity Mechanism whenever the rights to a Santos-developed player are sold or traded to another club. The asset has a minimum trading value set at R$50. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Portal do Bitcoin)
Banco do Brasil announced the launch of its blockchain innovation lab Lentes BB. Its initial program will be implemented in partnership with blockchain startup GoLedger. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Brazilian footballer Daniel Alves is launching a sports-themed cryptocurrency project called USD Sports in conjunction with e-sports personalities Nobru and Cerol. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Hashdex and Nasdaq are teaming up to offer a course to financial professionals called Nasdaq Advisory Academy: Digital Asset Curriculum. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
A survey of 9,000 individuals from emerging market countries found that 75% are eager to increase their exposure to cryptocurrencies. The study was conducted by consumer sentiment firm Toluna. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
a55, a Brazilian fintech specializing in credit provision to startups, launched a new hybrid TradFi-DeFi operation that incorporates the USDC stablecoin pegged to the BRL. The infrastructure was developed in partnership with Belgium-based Credix through a Solana based credit protocol. a55 CEO Hugo Mathecowitsch commented:
“We are writing the history of capital markets in Latin America with the first transaction in this model in Brazil. This operation paves the way for a bright future, in which alternative data will become a reliable collateral through blockchain to generate liquidity globally and finance the growth of companies around the world.” (Exame)
A game inspired by Brazilian philosopher Olavo de Carvalho is stealing CPU power from players to mine Monero. The digital crossword game Olavooo became popular on social media as a joke, but it contains malicious code that attacks players’ computers and diverts computing power to mine XMR, the privacy focused cryptocurrency. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Portal do Bitcoin)
Token.com, a UK-based fintech that is owned by Monolith group, is launching DeFi service offerings in Brazil. The platform will feature no fees, no grace period and no minimum investment. Its initial product will be a stablecoin portfolio that offers a 12% estimated yield per year, which it derives from the crypto-backed loans on the Anchor protocol on the Terra blockchain. Token.com CEO William Ou commented:
“We chose Brazil as the first country to launch Token.com based on economic and demographic criteria. Rampant inflation and high interest rates make the country a hotbed for fintechs. Our proposal is to make the gains of the crypto universe accessible to everyone. All with no fees or minimum deposits. We want to reach the mark of 250 thousand users by the end of the year.” (Exame) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
The state of Sergipe is financially supporting academic research in the areas of blockchain and metaverse. (CoinTimes)
Mercado Bitcoin and construction firm Melnick closed a partnership to accept crypto payments for real estate transactions. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
CoinPayments has partnered with digital sales platform Digital Manager Guru to process digital currency payments. (Exame)
A group of Brazilian entrepreneurs, including Rony Meisler, Rallis Gomes and Rapha Avellar, launched a DAO aimed at educating and investing in Web3. The launch took place at Ethereum Rio. (Exame)
The Brazil Blockchain Network will use the Hyperledger Besu 2.0 blockchain development hub, according to Gladstone Arantes - head of blockchain initiatives at BNDES, Brazil’s state-owned development bank. Arantes made the announcement at Ethereum Rio last week. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Portal do Bitcoin)
Eletrobras, Brazil’s state-owned electric utility, is seeking a vendor to build out a permissioned blockchain. The chain would be used for traceability and reducing bureaucracy in the Procel Energy Savings Seal program, which was created to incentivize energy efficiently and applies to all home appliances in Brazil, such as refrigerators, stores, televisions and air conditioning units. Eletrobras stated in a public notice:
“Procel has been studying a more efficient way of handling the administration and governance of data distributed in a shared network. Analyzing the entire registry chain, it is understood that the Blockchain technology of a permissioned distributed registry database is the one that best meets the needs of the process.” (CoinTimes) (Exame) (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (
Brazilian fintech and asset tokenization startup BlockBR closed a partnership with Nexxera to tokenize R$1bn in receivables. Nexxees Group, owner of Nexxera, is the largest integrator and processor of financial and mercantile services in Brazil. Edson Silva, presdient of Nexxees Group, commented:
“It is in our DNA to be aligned and to be a precursor of the future for our customers and partners. We understand that tokenization of assets, such as receivables, is the next era of financial and mercantile processes in the world. We are very pleased to announce the investment in BlockBR and we believe that together we will bring the future even closer.” (Exame) (CoinTelegraph Brasil)