PANews reported on May 1 that, according to Cointelegraph, the Central Bank of Brazil (Banco Central do Brasil, BCB) issued Resolution No. 561, prohibiting the use of virtual assets for settlement within the regulated international payment and transfer service (eFX) framework, further tightening the regulation of crypto assets in the cross-border payment sector.

Under the new regulations, payments and receipts between eFX service providers and their overseas counterparties must be completed solely through foreign exchange transactions or fund transfers from non-resident Brazilian real accounts, and settlements using crypto assets or stablecoins are prohibited. This restriction also applies to eFX service providers that are not yet formally included in the approval category but are in the transition period; these institutions wishing to continue operating must apply for authorization from the Central Bank of Brazil by May 31, 2027.

This regulation does not constitute a complete ban on cryptocurrency transfers in Brazil, but rather explicitly excludes crypto assets and stablecoins from regulated eFX cross-border payment channels, reinforcing the requirement that cross-border capital flows be regulated through the official foreign exchange system. The Central Bank of Brazil had previously stated that...