🙊 Brazil 🇧🇷: debate over cryptocurrency card taxation gains momentum

🙊 Brazil 🇧🇷: debate over cryptocurrency card taxation gains momentum

For now, crypto card holders may not have to pay the financial transactions tax (IOF) when making international payments… but this could change.

➡️ What is it about❓

🗣 Brazilian users have access to debit or prepaid cards that allow them to purchase crypto assets and hold them in an account. When the card is used, the purchase amount is automatically deducted from the available balance.

🗣 There are also cards similar to credit cards. In this case, users keep their funds in a reserve account, which serves as a reference for the value of the transactions. At the end of the month, customers can pay the bill in cash or use cryptocurrencies to settle the outstanding balance. The reserve account can also be used to make purchases on foreign websites or hold part of the assets in USD.

🗣 These cards allow merchants to receive payments in local currency, both for e-commerce transactions and through physical POS terminals.

➡️ Issuers: currently these include Binance, Kast, Onda Finance and OKX. With the Kast card, payments are made using the USDC balance and operate under a debit model. The main costs are currency conversion fees, ranging from 0.9% to 2.9%, as well as the foreign-exchange margin.

➡️ Market growth:

🗣 According to data from the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service, the volume of cryptocurrency transactions in Brazil reached USD 98.37 billion in 2025.

🗣 The volume corresponding exclusively to stablecoins exceeded USD 70.056 billion during the same year.

🗣 According to analysts at Binance Research, in May 2026, the volume of transactions made using cryptocurrency cards exceeded USD 747 million. Over one year, this payment method recorded 48.6% growth.

➡️ Regulation: in February 2026, the Central Bank of Brazil regulated the activities of virtual asset service providers, establishing requirements related to minimum capital, asset segregation and the supervision of these companies.

➡️ Debate over new taxes: some industry players have proposed applying a 3.5% Tax on Financial Operations (IOF)to the value of transactions. ABcripto, ABFintechs and three other associations, representing 850 Brazilian companies, publicly stated that the measure would be illegal and unconstitutional. The Finance Minister postponed the measure's entry into force until March 2026, but indicated that the issue would be revisited after the elections, scheduled for November.

➡️ Context: the debate is taking place alongside MP 1.303, which eliminated the income tax exemption for cryptocurrency sales of up to USD 6,811 per month and introduced a flat 17.5% tax rate on capital gains derived from crypto assets.

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