Brazil Registers Record Number of Institutions Declaring Cryptocurrency Holdings

Brazil registered its highest number of companies and institutions declaring ownership of cryptocurrencies in August. The numbers, which come directly from the Brazilian Tax Authority (RFB), show that more and more institutions are eager to purchase cryptocurrency, and also indicate that the most significant volumes are moved using Tether’s stablecoin usdt.

Institutions Are Holding More Crypto in Brazil

Institutions are attracted to holding crypto in Latam countries due to their economies’ specific problems. Recently, the Brazilian Tax Authority (RFB) registered a record increase in the number of these institutions declaring ownership of some kind of cryptocurrency. The numbers, that correspond to August’s statements, show that more than 12,000 companies in Brazil acknowledge holding crypto as part of their treasury.

This indicator rose from the number of companies that declared having crypto in July (11,360). However, the statements of individuals did register a slowdown when compared to July, registering 35,000 statements less in August. However, this indicator is still high, with more than 1,300,000 individuals declaring they have some kind of crypto as part of their assets.

Each month the Brazilian Tax Authority (RFB) informs the market about movements in the number of mandatory statements regarding the ownership of crypto to give a glimpse into the evolution and direction of the market.

USDT Still King

USDT, the dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether, is one of the tokens most used in the country, at least when it comes to value moved. More than $1.4 billion was moved using USDT across 79,836 operations in August, with an average amount of almost $18,000 per transaction.

However, bitcoin beat USDT when comparing the number of transactions made in the same period. During August, more than 2.1 million transactions were made using BTC. However, the amount of money involved was far less, reaching an average amount of close to $130 per transaction. BRZ, the first Brazilian real-pegged stablecoin, also registered significant levels of movement, alongside ETH and USDC, yet another dollar-pegged stablecoin.

These numbers show that the cryptocurrency market is growing in the country at an accelerated rate, given that in July, the Brazilian Tax Authority also registered a record number of individual cryptocurrency ownership statements. This has caused many fintech companies like Picpay and Nubank, and even traditional banks such as Santander, to announce their intention to include cryptocurrency services as part of their portfolio.