A statutory framework
Brazil legislated directly. Law 14.478/2022 established a legal framework for virtual asset service providers, defined virtual assets, set out the activities requiring authorisation, and created criminal penalties for fraud involving virtual assets. Executive regulation designated the Banco Central do Brasil as the authority responsible for authorising and supervising virtual asset service providers.
Where a virtual asset is a security, the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários retains jurisdiction — the same boundary question that arises in most jurisdictions, resolved here by reference to Brazilian securities law rather than by a bespoke test.
Fraud provisions
One feature worth drawing out is that the law created a specific criminal offence for fraud involving virtual assets, with penalties heavier than general fraud provisions. That reflects the scale of investment-fraud losses in Brazil in the preceding years. For a reader, it means that a fraud complaint involving crypto has a defined route through the criminal justice system rather than depending on general provisions.
Tax and reporting
The Receita Federal has required reporting of crypto transactions for several years, including transactions conducted on foreign platforms above defined thresholds — an obligation frequently missed by individuals using offshore exchanges. Gains are subject to income tax, with the applicable rate depending on the amount and the nature of the transaction.
Reporting obligations and tax liability are separate: a reporting duty can arise on transactions that produce no taxable gain. The Receita Federal’s own guidance is the authority on both.
Status of implementation
The statutory framework and its supervisory implementation have proceeded on different timelines, which is common where a law designates a regulator to fill in operative detail. Because implementation is ongoing, the Banco Central’s current publications — rather than the 2022 law alone — determine what applies to a given provider today.
Sources
- Banco Central do Brasil, Virtual asset service providers (1 Jan 2026)
- Receita Federal, Crypto asset reporting obligations (1 Jan 2026)
Not legal or tax advice. This is a summary of published rules, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; check the primary sources linked above.
Last reviewed by Conisec Staff. Review cadence: Quarterly.