Catenaa, Thursday, October 09, 2025- Brazil has emerged as Latin America’s largest crypto market, processing $318.8 billion in digital asset transactions between July 2024 and June 2025, driven largely by stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.
The figure represents nearly one-third of the region’s $1.5 trillion total crypto activity, according to Chainalysis.
Stablecoins dominate Brazilian crypto usage, serving remittances, payroll, merchant payments, and cross-border settlements.
Institutional activity has more than doubled year-on-year, with major banks and fintechs including Itaú Unibanco, Mercado Pago, and Nubank integrating crypto services. Local exchanges Mercado Bitcoin, Foxbit, and BitPreço provide regulated access aligned with domestic banking infrastructure.
Brazil dwarfs other Latin American markets, with Argentina at $93.9 billion, Mexico $71.2 billion, and Venezuela $44.6 billion.
Centralized exchanges account for 64% of regional crypto activity, higher than in North America or Europe, reflecting local demand for simple access, fiat conversion, and cross-border remittances. Platforms like Bitso and Ripio have localized services to strengthen trust and accessibility.
Regulatory momentum continues, with the 2022–2023 Virtual Assets Law (BVAL) assigning supervision to the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB).
Upcoming regulatory guidelines are expected to cover DeFi protocols, custodians, and stablecoin issuers. Concurrently, Brazil is considering a $19 billion Bitcoin strategic reserve under Bill 4501/24, which would integrate BTC into national treasury strategy, potentially joining El Salvador, the US, and China in formal adoption of digital assets.
