Brazil’s central bank bans stablecoin and crypto settlement in cross-border payments
The ban applies to fintechs and payment firms, closing the back-end payment rail for cross-border flows, but individual crypto investors can still buy and hold assets.
What to know:
- Brazil’s central bank banned electronic foreign exchange (eFX) providers from using stablecoins and other cryptos (like Bitcoin) to settle overseas remittances, effective October 1.
- The ban applies to fintechs and payment firms, closing the back-end payment rail for cross-border flows, but individual crypto investors can still buy and hold assets.
- EFX payments must now use foreign exchange transactions or non-resident real accounts. Unauthorized firms must apply for BCB approval by May 2027.
Payments between an eFX provider and its foreign counterparty must move through a foreign exchange transaction or a non-resident real-denominated account in Brazil, with cryptocurrencies barred as an option.
A remittance firm cannot take reais from a customer, convert the funds into USDT, USDC or bitcoin and settle the payment abroad on a blockchain.
The rule does not ban crypto trading. Investors can still buy, sell, hold and transfer cryptocurrency through authorized virtual asset service providers under Resolution BCB No. 521, which took effect February 2. Resolution 561 closes the back-end payment rail used by regulated eFX firms.
The change targets companies like Wise, Nomad and Braza Bank that had built stablecoin settlement into cross-border flows. Nomad, for example, uses Ripple’s network to move funds between Brazil and the U.S. and settle in stablecoins, while Braza Bank issued a real-backed stablecoin on the XRP Ledger.
