BRAZIL Trends and Developments Contributed by: Vanêssa Fialdini, Mariana de Azevedo Mendonça and Jorge Augusto de Holanda Souza, Fialdini Advogados
Fialdini Advogados Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima
1478 19° Andar CEP 01451-001 São Paulo/SP Brazil Tel: +55 11 3097 1999
Email: contato@fialdiniadv.com.br Web: www.fialdiniadvogados.com.br
A New Regulatory Layer for a Maturing Market Introduction – a new regulatory layer on crypto- assets Brazil has begun its preparation to enter into a new phase of the regulation of crypto-assets. With the pub- lication of BCB Resolution No 520, of 10 November 2025 and its entry into force on 2 February 2026, the Central Bank of Brazil has set a series of rules regard- ing the creation and operations of Virtual Asset Ser- vice Providers (VASPs), the name given by Brazilian legislation to companies providing services of custody and intermediation of cryptocurrency and other virtual assets. The regulation defines who may provide virtual asset services in Brazil, creates the requirement for a licence from the regulator, and sets out governance, risk management, compliance, cybersecurity, internal controls, customer protection and asset-segregation obligations. On the same date, the Central Bank also published BCB Resolutions No 519 and 521, the first, regulat- ing the procedures and requirements for the licensing process of VASPs, as further detailed in BCB Norma- tive Instruction No 704, of 29 January 2026, and the second, altering the standing rules on the Brazilian foreign exchange regulation to connect it to the virtual assets regulation, especially in relation to transactions involving virtual assets referenced to fiat currencies and international payments or transfers. These norms are somewhat considered the “next phase” of the ongoing process of regulating crypto in Brazil. For several years, ownership and operation of virtual assets in Brazil went largely unregulated and developed in a relatively fragmented environment:
crypto exchanges, custodians, foreign platforms and tokenisation projects operated under general rules on consumer protection, tax reporting, anti-money laun- dering, securities regulation and foreign exchange, but without a comprehensive licensing regime spe- cifically designed for virtual asset service providers, and that could bring legal certainty to the players in this market. The first phase of the process started in 2022, with the enactment of Law No 14,478, of December 21, com- monly referred to as the Brazilian Virtual Assets Act. The law established general guidelines for the provi- sion of virtual asset services and for the regulation of entities providing those services. It also amended Bra- zilian anti-money laundering legislation to expressly include virtual asset service providers within the AML/ CFT perimeter. However, the statute itself was frame- work legislation – while it created the legal architec- ture, it left the operational details to a regulator which would only be designated six months later, through Decree No 11.563, of 13 June 2023. Following a series of interactions with the market and specialists, both privately and through public consul- tations, the publication of the new rules by the Central Bank marks the transition from a statutory framework to an operational regulatory regime. One important element of Law 14,478 is the definition of virtual assets subject to regulation under the frame- work, which does not include all blockchain-based tokens. The norm excluded, alongside virtual repre- sentations, fiat currencies, utility tokens and security tokens, the former being subject to general security
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