Brazil Stablecoin Market Shows Greater Sensitivity to Global Shocks: IMF

In a recent report on Brazil's financial system, the IMF said stablecoin purchases in the country are two to three times more sensitive to external shocks than traditional portfolio investment or foreign direct investment. The Fund found that demand for stablecoins - digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies, usually the US dollar - also responds to movements in the Brazilian real, domestic interest rates and economic policy uncertainty.  

Due to those risks, the IMF urged Brazil to complete its crypto framework by introducing direct oversight of stablecoin issuers, strengthening protections for client assets and expanding supervision of digital-asset firms' links with banks and the wider financial system. It also called for closer coordination with foreign regulators and full implementation of anti-money-laundering requirements, including the travel rule, which requires crypto exchanges to collect and transmit identifying information about the sender and recipient of transactions. 

"The legal framework should be enhanced to establish legal powers for the BCB to regulate cryptoasset issuance, including stablecoins," the report said, adding that regulating crypto service providers as gatekeepers "may not be sufficient." 

Cross-border flows on the rise

According to the IMF, cross-border crypto flows in Brazil have expanded faster since 2017 than both traditional capital flows and nominal gross domestic product (GDP). "While systemic financial stability risks related to crypto currently appear contained, the rapid growth of crypto activity, including stablecoins as one component, warrants close monitoring," reads the report.  

The findings suggest stablecoins are evolving into a macro-financial transmission mechanism that policymakers will increasingly need to monitor as adoption grows. 

Pix fuels adoption 

Crypto is accounting for a growing share of money moving across Brazil's borders. Monthly crypto transactions have climbed from about 1.1% of gross domestic product in 2020 to nearly 3.8%, while crypto purchases are now equivalent to roughly 35% of portfolio investment outflows, according to IMF data. 

The steady adoption of stablecoins has developed alongside the wider digitalization of Brazil's financial system. Pix, the instant-payment network launched by the country's central bank in 2020, helped turn digital payments into a mass-market habit rather than a service used mainly by younger, tech-savvy consumers. Its adoption across age groups and income levels has made app-based transfers part of everyday financial life for much of the population. 

Stablecoins extend that behaviour into areas Pix does not directly serve, including access to US dollars and cross-border transactions. 

"The two technologies reinforce the digitalization of money," Fabrício Tota, vice-president of crypto business at Brazilian exchange operator Mercado Bitcoin, told Sandmark. The company, one of Brazil's largest crypto exchanges, recently disclosed a $20mn investment from stablecoin issuer Tether. 

Tota said the Pix network removed a longstanding mismatch between the banking system and round-the-clock crypto markets, allowing money to move at the same pace as blockchain markets. Its integration at Mercado Bitcoin increased trading volume by more than 30% and made weekends active trading periods rather than times of lower activity, Tota said. He said the same digital infrastructure is now helping support tokenization, stablecoins and programmable payments. 

Chainalysis estimated that Brazil received $318.8bn in crypto value between June 2024 and July 2025, accounting for nearly one-third of all crypto activity in Latin America. Stablecoins dominated those flows, with officials estimating that more than 90% of the country's crypto activity over the past three years involved dollar-pegged tokens.