The Central Bank of Brazil reported that demand for cryptocurrency assets, including bitcoin, ether, and stablecoins, reached over $14 billion during the first half of 2026. This represents a 135% increase over H1 2025, indicating continued demand expansion.
Key Takeaways
Brazil’s crypto demand surged 135% in H1 2026, reaching $14.68B as the market matures and consolidates.Dollar-pegged stablecoins drive over 90% of this demand, serving as essential proxies for payments.A new 2027 regulatory regime will treat virtual asset providers like securities firms for better oversight.Brazil, the largest economy in Latam and one of the largest in the world, is experiencing record growth in crypto and stablecoin demand.
Although the central bank statistics are not perfect, as they only account for volumes transacted by registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs), they indicate adoption has accelerated, particularly in June, when $2.54 billion in crypto was purchased compared to $1.48 billion in June 2025.
“The crypto asset market is relatively new, not so new anymore. It is still expanding, both in Brazil and around the world. It is consolidating and discovering applications and uses,” he declared.
This demand is driven by dollar-pegged stablecoins, which enjoy high adoption levels as they can serve as dollar proxies for payments and cross-border settlements. Rocha indicated that the demand for stablecoins reached over 90%, an evolution of a market that was concentrated in bitcoin and in other volatile cryptocurrencies a few years ago.
Increased use of stablecoins led the national government to consider a 3.5% levy on all stablecoin transactions. This attempt was ultimately delayed as the current administration switched into election mode.
Even so, Rocha stressed that the central bank’s vision of the national cryptocurrency ecosystem is limited by the current statistical data, explaining that starting next year, the institution will have a more complete view of the destiny of these assets.
