Brazil's crypto firms face Friday deadline to win central bank VASP licences
Mercado Bitcoin filed its application to become a virtual asset service provider regulated by the Banco Central do Brasil on Tuesday, 27 January, with the deadline for the whole sector falling this Friday. Under rules the central bank published last year, every company dealing in cryptoassets in Brazil must be authorised by 30 January to keep operating; those that fail will be treated as irregular institutions and lose the right to do business in the country.
The exchange already holds a payment institution licence and bought Banco Mercantil's brokerage earlier this year. Approval as a VASP would add a second authorisation on top of that. "We invested early in technology, security and governance, and the regulation confirms the path we chose," chief executive and chairman Roberto Dagnoni said in a statement. "Now the focus is on expanding our market presence and consolidating MB as the main gateway for people, companies and institutions seeking financial solutions based on digital assets."
Mercado Bitcoin has absorbed client bases through the year: Mexico's Bitso wound down its retail operations in Brazil to concentrate on business clients, and Brazilian brokerage Bity moved its 850,000 users across.
Others filing before the cut-off include Ripio, Binance, OKX, Bybit, Crown, Brasil Bitcoin, Transfero, Mazzera, PFPay, Masterpay, W Brasil Comércio, Onda Finance and Wynx Exchange, according to Token Times. Brasil Bitcoin is suspended by court order. Avenia, Coinbase, Foxbit and Lumx are expected to follow, alongside banks with digital asset operations including Bradesco, BTG Pactual and Itaú.
The deadline turns last year's rulebook into a gate: only firms the central bank approves as PSAVs, the Portuguese-language designation for VASPs, will be able to serve Brazilian customers after Friday.
