Why Brazil is using Bitcoin as a treasury asset and what other nations can learn

"Brazil sits firmly near the top of the list for crypto adoption in 2025 Did you know? B3 (short for Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão) is Brazil's main stock exchange, formed in 2017 through the merger of São Paulo's securities, futures and commodities exchanges. It is one of the largest market infrastructures in the world and the first in Latin America to list a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF)."

"Brazil has spent the past few years building regulated, familiar ways to access Bitcoin. In 2021, B3 listed Latin America's first spot Bitcoin ETF (QR Asset's QBTC11), giving institutions an auditor-friendly instrument without requiring self-custody from day one. Derivatives followed. In mid-2025, B3 reduced the Bitcoin futures contract size from 0.1 BTC to 0.01 BTC to broaden participation and improve hedging. The change was formally implemented on June 16, 2025, through circular and public notice."

"Brazil's moves are corporate and municipal, not sovereign. B3's spot ETFs and resized 0.01-BTC futures let treasurers gain, size and hedge exposure using familiar tools. New VASP standards (licensing, AML/CFT, governance, security), effective February 2026, reduce operational uncertainty. What's actually happening in Brazil? To be clear, Brazil's National Treasury and central bank are not adding Bitcoin to the country's sovereign reserves. There is also no law requiring government bodies or state-owned firms to hold Bitcoin ( BTC)."

Market participants in Brazil have built regulated, familiar channels for Bitcoin access through exchange-listed products and derivatives rather than sovereign reserve purchases. B3 listed Latin America's first spot Bitcoin ETF in 2021 and reduced futures contract size to 0.01 BTC in mid-2025 to broaden participation and improve hedging. Asset managers launched hybrid funds combining Bitcoin and gold on B3. New VASP standards covering licensing, AML/CFT, governance and security will take effect in February 2026, lowering operational uncertainty. The practical sequence has been rulemaking, plain-vanilla access products, hedging tools and enforced disclosure for market integrity.

Read at Cointelegraph