Brazil’s central bank has officially released highly anticipated guidelines aimed at regulating the country’s cryptocurrency market, with a primary focus on combating the growing incidence of scams and money laundering activities.
The move follows the legal framework for cryptocurrencies approved in 2022, which was subject to additional regulatory measures from the central bank. Over the past few months, the central bank has conducted four public consultations to gather feedback on the new rules.
New crypto guidelines in Brazil
During a recent press conference, Gilneu Vivan, the director of regulation at the central bank, underlines that the new regulations are designed to minimize opportunities for scams, fraud and misuse of virtual asset markets for money laundering purposes.
These regulations are expected to come into force in February 2026 and will encompass authorization processes for foreign exchange and securities brokers, as well as distributors and service providers of virtual assets.
According to the press release published on the official website of the central bank, any purchase, sale or exchange of cryptographic assets linked to fiat currencies, or more commonly known stable coinswill now be classified as a foreign exchange transaction.
This classification also extends to international payments or transfers involving crypto assets, including transactions made to settle obligations via electronic payment methods or cards.
Furthermore, the new guidelines will improve existing regulations on customer protection, transparency and fight against money laundering efforts, ensuring that virtual asset service providers adhere to the same standards as traditional financial institutions.
UK Central Bank’s Stablecoin Regime Advances
At the same time, the Bank of England announcement a proposal allowing issuers of widely used stablecoins to invest up to 60% of the assets supporting them in government debt. This marks a potential shift in the Bank’s approach to the sector, as it plans to implement new rules next year.
However, the Bank has also proposed capping the number of stablecoins that individuals and businesses can hold, a measure that differentiates it from the regulatory approaches taken by the European Union (EU) and US authorities.
Sarah Breeden, Bank of England deputy governor for financial stability, stressed that the proposals represent an important step towards establishing a stablecoin framework in the United Kingdom.
The Bank indicated that it was open to feedback and made adjustments to its proposals based on stakeholder feedback, particularly regarding the interaction between stablecoin issuers and the Bank.
At the same time, the Bank of England is also considering the possibility of providing central bank liquidity facilities to systemic stablecoin issuers during periods of market stress, providing a safety net if these issuers struggle to liquidate their reserve holdings in the private market.
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