Brazil passes law to ban algorithmic stablecoins; violators could face up to 8 years in prison.

The Brazilian Congress's Science and Technology Committee passed a bill to ban algorithmic stablecoins, explicitly prohibiting the issuance and trading of stablecoins without sufficient reserves, including Ethena's USDe and Frax. The new regulations require stablecoins issued in Brazil to be 100% backed by segregated reserve assets and increase transparency; issuing unsecured stablecoins will be a criminal offense, punishable by up to eight years in prison. For foreign stablecoins (such as USDT and USDC), only approved institutions are permitted to provide them, and transactions must verify whether the issuer meets Brazilian standards; otherwise, the risk is borne by the transacting party. Stablecoins currently account for approximately 90% of cryptocurrency trading volume in Brazil. (CoinDesk)