Brazil crypto licence deadline hits as 38 firms apply to central bank
Brazil's deadline for crypto providers to seek central bank authorisation expired Oct. 30, with 38 applicants tracked, including Binance, OKX and Mercado Bitcoin.
REGULATIONEXCHANGESNEWS
Lukas Brenner
10/30/20262 min read
Brazil's deadline for crypto service providers to file for authorisation with the Banco Central do Brasil expired on Oct. 30, with 38 companies having applied as of Oct. 29, according to the Cainvest SPSAV monitor cited by Finsiders Brasil. Named applicants include Binance, OKX, Bybit, Ripple, Ripio, Mercado Bitcoin and Crown.
The figure falls well short of the roughly 100 firms the central bank had initially expected for the segment. The regulator has already rejected one application, from Higherway Tech Soluções. Banks already licensed by the central bank, including Itaú, Inter, Nubank and FX specialist Braza Bank, use a simpler notification procedure and have told the regulator they plan to operate in crypto.
What the deadline means
Firms that were operating on Feb. 2, 2026, had until Oct. 30 to submit first-phase documents under Normative Instruction BCB 704. Filing lets a company keep operating while it is reviewed but is not a licence. Those that did not apply have 30 days to wind down under Resolution BCB 520, taking on no new business and returning or transferring client assets, BitNotícias reported, citing central bank official Nagel Lisânias Paulino.
From Nov. 6, banks, payment institutions and other supervised entities may no longer carry out or facilitate operations with unauthorised crypto providers. Resolution BCB 589 moved that cut-off from Oct. 30 to avoid operational problems while filings were still arriving. Applicants that pass the first phase then have 60 days to submit further documents on controllers, governance, business plans and risk.
The rules, set out in Resolutions 519, 520 and 521 published in November 2025, require providers to obtain formal authorisation, segregate client assets and certify reserves. Resolution 521 treats certain stablecoin operations as foreign exchange transactions, Latin Times noted.
The regime is already reshaping the market. Revolut is ending crypto services for Brazilian clients, Bitso is moving retail customers to Mercado Bitcoin, and Coinext, NovaDAX, Bity and Digitra.com have announced or begun winding down exchange operations, according to Finsiders Brasil. Brazil processed $252.5 billion in crypto transactions in the year to June 2026, more than 42% of Latin America's total, Latin Times reported.
Source: Finsiders Brasil, BitNotícias, Latin Times