The Brazilian Central Bank recently placed virtual asset service providers (VASPs) under the same rules as traditional financial brokerages.
Starting January 1, 2027, cryptocurrency platforms operating in the South American country will be required to meet capital, risk management and disclosure standards similar to traditional financial intermediaries.
What are the new requirements for virtual asset service providers in Brazil?
Brazilian Central Bank Reclassification of crypto providers As Type 3 institutions (Decision No. 580/2026), and subject to the same rules as traditional securities brokerage firms, effective January 1, 2027.
Once activated, cryptocurrency companies will be required to maintain capital reserves, implement risk management systems, and disclose financial information on the same terms as traditional financial intermediaries.
By June 30, 2028, it is expected that all cryptocurrency companies will be placed in Part 4 (S4) of the central bank’s supervisory regime, regardless of their size. The S4 comes with stricter compliance rules than the simpler S5 chip, which is intended for smaller financial institutions. The central bank said cryptocurrency activity was “incompatible” with the lower-level S5 chip.
The central bank has built this Regulatory framework Since Law No. 14478/2022 gave it authority over virtual assets. A 2023 presidential decree confirmed this mandate, and in November 2025, the central bank published Decisions 519, 520 and 521, which set capital requirements between R$10.8 million and R$37.2 million (about $2 million to $7 million) for cryptocurrency companies. These rules also included anti-money laundering protocols and asset segregation requirements.
In February 2026, the National Monetary Board expanded banking secrecy requirements to include cryptocurrency platforms, and the central bank added in May that platforms must have mandatory independent audits conducted by professionals registered with Brazil’s securities regulator (CVM).
Will this hurt smaller cryptocurrency platforms?
Industry executives, such as Carlos Russo, CEO of Bloquo and coordinator at the Brazilian Association of Tokenization and Digital Assets (ABToken), expect companies in the industry to begin consolidating once smaller platforms realize the difficulty of absorbing compliance costs.
One unnamed industry executive It is said that he said That parity between cryptocurrency platforms and brokerages “doesn’t make much sense in terms of ‘same risk, same regulation’.” However, the CEO noted that the 2027 effective date at least gives businesses time to prepare.
the Industry expects The central bank should issue a supplementary rule detailing specific risk factors for the cryptocurrency sector. This topic has already gone through a public consultation process, and the central bank has taken into account public comments on previous rules, such as allowing self-custody wallets and allowing banks to operate in the cryptocurrency market.
Cryptopolitan I mentioned Brazil processed approximately $318 billion in cryptocurrency transactions between mid-2024 and mid-2025, making it one of the largest cryptocurrency markets globally. The Brazilian Central Bank stated that its move is in line with International best practices To regulate virtual assets.
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