Brazil Considers Ban On Stablecoin Transfers To Self-Custodial Wallets

According to Cointelegraph, Brazil is contemplating a ban on stablecoin transfers to self-custodial wallets, coinciding with the Brazilian real reaching unprecedented lows against the US dollar. On November 29, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) proposed a regulation to prohibit the transfer of stablecoins, such as Tether’s USDt (USDT), to self-custodial wallets like MetaMask. This proposal is part of a draft regulation open for public consultation until February 28, 2025. The proposal explicitly states that virtual asset service providers are forbidden from transferring virtual assets denominated in foreign currency to self-custodial portfolios. This move aligns with Brazil's broader strategy to enhance oversight of the foreign exchange market and regulate Brazilian capital abroad. The BCB aims to amend existing 2022 resolutions concerning virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in the foreign exchange market. The central bank's proposal seeks to expand the scope of the foreign exchange market to include activities such as crypto payments, sales, custody, and transactions in foreign currency. Under this proposal, VASPs would be required to provide the BCB with detailed information, including client verification and transfer values. The rationale behind the focus on self-custodial wallets is that, unlike centralized exchanges, these wallets do not require user information for transactions, offering full ownership and accountability of assets. While some advocates of self-custody argue that regulators can limit the use of self-custodial wallets, they cannot completely ban them. The BCB's proposal comes amid a significant depreciation of the Brazilian real against the US dollar, with the real losing at least 23% of its value since January 1, reaching an all-time low of 6.09 reals per dollar on November 29. The cryptocurrency community has linked Brazil's proposal to restrict stablecoin transactions to the declining value of the real. Some voices in the community, like Area Bitcoin co-founder Carol Souza, have suggested that the government is attempting to limit financial exits as the real collapses. Brazil is a significant market for stablecoins, with the local community increasingly using them to hedge against the real's depreciation. According to Chainalysis, Brazil was the second-largest market globally for stablecoin transactions last year, with stablecoin volumes accounting for 59.8% of its entire crypto market. In the past year, Brazil saw $90 billion in crypto inflows, trailing Argentina by just $1 billion.