Stablecoins Drive 90% of Brazil’s Crypto Volume, Tax Authority Data Shows

Brazil’s crypto market is moving billions of dollars a month, and regulators are taking notice. In a technical presentation at the Blockchain Conference Brasil, Flavio Correa Prado, an auditor at Brazil’s tax authority, the Receita Federal, revealed that crypto transactions reported under existing rules have reached between $6 billion and $8 billion per month.

If current trends continue, that figure could rise to $9 billion monthly by 2030, he said. Most of that volume comes from stablecoins like USDT and USDC, which now account for up to 90% of all reported transactions in some months. Bitcoin, once dominant, has become a secondary player as the country adopts stablecoins. This shift toward stablecoins and the scale of the volumes is driving a major change in how Brazil tracks crypto assets. Receita Federal is set to replace its existing crypto reporting rule (known as IN 1.888) with a new system called DeCripto, starting July 2025.

DeCripto is based on the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), an international standard developed by the OECD and adopted by more than 60 countries. The framework enables the automatic exchange of tax information between jurisdictions, providing local authorities with access to data on offshore cryptocy transactions.

Under the new rules, exchanges must classify transactions into specific categories: crypto-to-fiat trades, crypto-to-crypto swaps, retail payments over $50,000, transfers in and out of wallets, and movements to unhosted wallets. Data collection starts in January 2025. With billions in monthly flow, mostly in dollar-linked assets, the country’s tax authority is effectively tightening oversight to match the scale of Brazil’s fast-growing crypto economy. These changes come as Brazil’s central bank introduces its most extensive set of crypto regulations so far.

The new framework creates a licensing regime for crypto service providers and brings a wide range of activities under the country’s foreign exchange and capital market rules. Crypto firms will need to hold between $2 million and $7 million in capital, depending on their business type, and foreign companies serving Brazilian clients must establish a local entity. Companies that miss the nine‑month compliance window risk being barred from operating.

Terron Gold