Brazil blocks stablecoins from cross-border payment system starting October 1

Starting October 1, 2026, Brazil's central bank will implement Resolution 561, barring stablecoins from settling the leg between regulated foreign-exchange providers and overseas counterparties. While individual transfers remain permitted, the rule closes a regulatory gap in the eFX aggregation model. Experts warn this change could increase costs for Brazilian consumers by introducing traditional financial transaction taxes and SWIFT fees, despite stablecoins representing 80% of Brazil's declared crypto volume in 2025.

Resolution 561 settlement restrictions

• ▪Brazil's central bank will bar virtual assets, including stablecoins, from settling the leg between regulated foreign-exchange providers and their overseas counterparties starting October 1, 2026.
• ▪Individual international transfers using virtual assets remain permitted under Brazil's existing regulatory framework despite the implementation of Resolution 561.
• ▪Brazil's central bank Resolution 561 requires the settlement leg between regulated foreign-exchange providers and overseas counterparties to run through a licensed foreign-exchange transaction or a qualifying non-resident real account.

eFX aggregation model closure

• ▪Brazil's eFX aggregation model allows payment providers to bundle individual payments, netting balances across an entire day before settling once with their foreign counterparty
• ▪Brazil's Resolution 561 eliminates the specific combination of stablecoin settlement with bulk aggregation for eFX providers starting October 1, 2026.

Regulatory ambiguity resolution

• ▪Oscar Guillermo Farah Osorio stated that Resolution 561, taking effect October 1, 2026, gives Brazil's central bank clearer visibility into payment flows within the formal exchange system
• ▪Oscar Guillermo Farah Osorio, founding partner at Zanella & Farah, stated that Brazil's Resolution 561 resolves ambiguity left by Brazil's 2022 virtual assets law, which gave the central bank authority over crypto foreign-exchange activity but lacked specific rules.

Cross-border transaction costs

• ▪Oscar Guillermo Farah Osorio stated that losing stablecoin settlement for bulk aggregation could force Brazilian providers to absorb Brazil's financial transaction tax, correspondent-bank fees, and SWIFT-network fees.
• ▪A July 2026 Bank of Italy study testing 200-dollar USDC transfers across ten corridors, including Brazil, found total costs ranging from 0.3% to nearly 9%, with currency conversion and local payment infrastructure driving most expenses.

Hybrid infrastructure compliance strategies

• ▪Cregis CEO Shawn Yan stated that brokers can respond to regulatory restrictions by keeping wallets and treasury controls in-house while routing specific legs through licensed intermediaries.
• ▪Cregis CEO Shawn Yan stated that brokers are using stablecoins for treasury management, liquidity movement between entities, and internal settlement within their own infrastructure.

Brazil stablecoin transaction volume

• ▪Brazil's tax authority recorded R$1.13 trillion in declared stablecoin transactions between August 2019 and December 2025, representing approximately 72% of all declared crypto activity in that period.
• ▪Stablecoins accounted for close to 80% of declared crypto volume in Brazil in 2025, with USDT making up nearly 89% of that stablecoin total.

Debatable claims

• ▪Stablecoins enable faster and cheaper cross-border transactions, bypassing traditional banking infrastructure limitations and foreign exchange exposure.
• ▪Brazil's ban on stablecoins for bulk-aggregated cross-border settlements is justified