Brazil central bank bars crypto from cross-border payments

The Banco Central do Brasil issued Resolution No. 561 on Thursday, removing cryptocurrencies — including stablecoins — from the country’s regulated cross-border payments framework.

The resolution amends rules for the electronic foreign exchange, known as eFX, so that international transfers must be processed through traditional foreign-exchange transactions or through regulated Brazilian-real accounts held by authorized foreign counterparties.

The measure does not prohibit crypto transfers inside Brazil. It prevents digital assets from being used within the monitored FX routes that handle international payments and settlement.

Under the amended rules, payments denominated in cryptocurrencies cannot be recorded as part of regulated FX operations. Importers, exporters and other payers must complete cross-border settlement via conventional FX trades or by depositing funds into regulated real currency accounts used for international transactions.

Banco Central chief Gabriel Galipolo has highlighted rising domestic crypto use over the past three years, noting roughly 90% of on-chain flows into and out of Brazil are linked to stablecoins.

Galipolo commented: “There has been a continued surge in domestic crypto usage over the past three years, with around 90% of the flow linked to stablecoins.”

The resolution follows prior rules that require virtual asset service providers to obtain authorization to operate and bring crypto firms under existing financial-sector requirements. In November 2025 the central bank classified providers as intermediaries, custodians or brokers and applied standards on customer protection, governance, internal controls, cybersecurity and anti-money-laundering. The authorization regime took effect in February with a nine-month grace period for compliance.

Other recent actions by Brazilian authorities include a pause in a planned public consultation on crypto taxation announced in March and regulatory orders last month that blocked certain prediction-market platforms over investor protection and market-integrity concerns.

Brazil is a major crypto market in Latin America and ranked fifth globally in a 2025 crypto-adoption index, up from 10th in 2024.

By excluding digital assets from the eFX framework, the central bank requires cross-border payments to flow through banking and foreign-exchange infrastructure where transactions are subject to existing reporting, monitoring and compliance rules that govern international capital and trade flows.