Brazil's crypto deadline closes with 63 licence bids, from Bitget to B3

Bitget, the sixth-largest crypto exchange by 24-hour volume on CoinGecko, filed for a virtual asset service provider licence with Brazil's central bank on Friday, the last day of the application window, according to Token Times. The exchange joined a queue that now stands at 63 applicants, up from 62 tracked by Cainvest's VASP monitoring tool before Bitget's filing.

The list reads like a roll call of Brazilian finance. State-owned and private banks Itaú Unibanco, Bradesco, BTG Pactual, Banco Inter, Banco BS2 and Banco Rendimento all applied, alongside the São Paulo stock exchange B3, Nubank's Nu Pagamentos, Ripple, Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, OKX, Bybit, Mercado Bitcoin and Ripio. The Philippine exchange Coins.xyz and the US investment platform Webull also filed.

From Saturday, firms that did not apply by the deadline can no longer trade crypto in Brazil, and neither can applicants the central bank rejects. The bank's requirements run from minimum regulatory capital to segregation of client assets and anti-money-laundering controls.

Bitget called Brazil a strategic market and said regulatory clarity would be "essential" to a safer, more transparent and sustainable environment. "Applying for authorisation from the central bank is an important step in our long-term commitment to the country," said Noah Cheung, Bitget's Brazil country manager. Coins.xyz said its focus is institutional clients, particularly payment companies. "Filing within the deadline reflects something the group has carried since the Philippines and is spreading to the countries we expand into: growing inside the regulated system," said Guilherme Bissoli, the exchange's executive director for Brazil.

Of the 63 applications, three are on the central bank's agenda for a decision, two are under examination and two are awaiting documents or responses from applicants, according to Token Times.