BlackRock and Tether execs join Brazil’s largest blockchain event

Blockchain Conference Brasil (November 28-29, São Paulo) positions itself as one of Latin America's key institutional crypto events, with confirmed speakers including Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and BlackRock Brazil's Business Development Director Cristiano Castro.

$183B stablecoin issuer meets world's largest asset manager

Paolo Ardoino leads Tether, the company behind USDT with $183 billion market capitalization – now comparable to major publicly traded corporations. Bloomberg recently valued Tether at $500 billion after funding talks for $15-20 billion, exceeding the combined market value of Brazil's largest companies.

Ardoino’s session will cover how dollar-backed stablecoins are shaping cross-border payments and liquidity management, highlighting their growing role in mainstream finance.

Cristiano Castro, with experience at BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Itaú Unibanco Asset Management, Citibank, and Ambev, now leads BlackRock's Wealth Management and Institutional client teams in Brazil.

He will present: “Digital Asset Allocation: Reshaping the Financial System and Investment Portfolios” – a topic gaining urgency as BlackRock Brazil CEO Bruno Barino recently stated that “cryptocurrency investment is a reality and it makes no sense to run from it.”

Brazil's crypto ETF market hits R$75B

B3, Brazil's stock exchange, released data on November 13 showing the ETF industry surpassed R$75 billion in consolidated assets, with over 850,000 investors – 81% retail.

The exchange lists 19 crypto-linked products tracking Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies. Total net assets of crypto funds and ETFs reached approximately R$13.7 billion as of April 2025, with the first product (HASH11) launching in April 2021.

These figures provide context for the panel “ETFs and Crypto Funds: The Engine of Institutional Adoption,” featuring Felipe Gonçalves (B3), Samir Kerbage (Hashdex Global CIO), and Fernando Carvalho (QR Capital CEO).

Binance data: payment protocols surge, privacy coins rise

Binance Research’s November 11 report highlighted three trends:

• x402 payment protocol adoption
• Privacy coin growth (Zcash now surpassing Monero)
• AI trading models that underperformed due to risk management issues

Despite a 6.1% decline in October, Bitcoin dominance increased, Ethereum drew institutional interest, and professional investors maintained stability.

Guilherme Nazar, Binance’s Regional VP for Latin America, will discuss crypto's role in the global economy, emphasizing practical adoption in emerging markets rather than speculation.

Infrastructure builders and privacy advocates

Rocelo Lopes (Truther), active in crypto since 2013 and master sponsor, emphasized the conference's educational mission:

The quality and quantity of content generated in a space like this tends to help the market more and more.

Juliana Felippe, General Director of Tools for Humanity in Brazil, will discuss digital wallet evolution, password-to-hash transitions, and proof of humanity – critical infrastructure for scaling crypto beyond early adopters.

Brazil is one of the great technology hubs, so it makes total sense for us to be here, exchanging ideas with partners who also believe in this innovation ecosystem,

Felippe said.

Felipe Escudero, event organizer, framed Brazil's opportunity:

We believe Brazil has the conditions to lead the next wave of crypto adoption. BCB functions as a showcase and catalyst: we connect local innovation to global players ready to build here.

Practical information

📍 Expo Center Norte, São Paulo
📅 November 28-29, 2025
💰 20% discount: MEDIAPARTNER20
🎟 blockchainconferencebrasil.com

The Coinomist is a media partner of Blockchain Conference Brasil 2025.