Key takeaways
- Data from the Central Bank of Brazil shows that purchases of digital assets jumped 155% year-on-year to $12.138 billion in May 2026.
- Brazil purchased $2.632 billion worth of stablecoins in May 2026, boosting dollar proxy demand across Latin America.
- The Lula administration could review stablecoin rules after the 2026 elections, with Abcripto opposing the proposals.
Brazilian demand for digital assets explodes in 2026
Brazil’s thirst for digital assets remains intact, even though the current crisis bear market rages in the crypto industry.
New data released by the Central Bank of Brazil on June 26 shows that demand for digital assets, especially stable coinswhich constitute one of the most popular use cases for this technology, exploded in May and throughout 2026.
In May, Brazilians purchased nearly $2.632 billion in stable coinsgrowing 158% from May 2025, when that figure reached $1.019 billion.
This shows that demand remained fairly consistent throughout April and May, with only a 2.8% month-over-month decline, reflecting the recent popularity of digital assets in the Brazilian market.
This is reinforced by taking into account annual figures. Through May, nearly $12.138 billion worth of digital assets were purchased, accounting for 72% of all digital assets. crypto purchased in 2025, when similar figures reached $16.939 billion.
Central Bank sources acknowledged that crypto demand has increased, but that a significant part of this demand corresponds to institutions purchasing crypto abroad to serve Brazilians.
The rise in stable coin The adoption is also relevant, given that most of these purchases correspond to those assets that have been used as a proxy for the dollar not only in Brazil but in other Latin American countries, including Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina.
Nevertheless, due to their large volumes, recent attempts have been made to tax stable rails due to their growing popularity in Brazil.
Lula’s administration attempted to impose a financial tax on stablecoin transactions that already applied to other traditional flows, but delayed it as the government focused on winning October’s general election.
Recent proposals include classifying stablecoins as electronic money, a move rejected by Abcripto, the national crypto association, as it would cause legal issues and hamper adoption, as in Europe, where similar legislation has been passed.
