Brazil's newly appointed Finance Minister Dario Durigan has decided to shelve a planned public consultation on cryptocurrency taxation, according to sources speaking to Reuters. The move comes as the government shifts its focus toward the country's October presidential election, with Durigan aiming to avoid spending political capital on divisive tax measures during an election year.
Durigan took office on Friday, replacing former minister Fernando Haddad, who stepped down to run for governor of Sao Paulo. The shelved consultation was anticipated as the next step in Brazil's evolving crypto regulatory framework, specifically meant to address the tax treatment of cryptocurrency flows, particularly stablecoin transactions used for international transfers.
The decision represents a broader fiscal pause. A separate proposal to end tax exemptions on investment securities like credit letters, which failed to advance in Congress last year, may now be deferred to a new presidential mandate starting in 2027. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reportedly asked Durigan to be the "new face of Brazil's economy," emphasizing economic development and a favorable business environment as Lula faces a tight reelection race against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.
This development occurs against the backdrop of Brazil's rapidly growing crypto market. The country ranks fifth globally and first in Latin America on Chainalysis' Global Crypto Adoption Index, with roughly $318.8 billion in crypto value received between July 2024 and June 2025. Crypto transactions in Brazil reached 227 billion reais in the first half of 2025 alone, a 20% year-over-year increase, with approximately two-thirds of that volume concentrated in USDT trading.
Central bank chief Gabriel Galipolo noted earlier this year that domestic crypto usage has surged over the past three years, with roughly 90% of flows linked to stablecoins. In November 2025, Brazil's central bank finalized rules bringing crypto service providers under existing financial sector regulations, requiring authorization to operate and placing stablecoin transactions and virtual assets used for international transfers under foreign exchange market oversight.
While the tax consultation is on hold, Brazil's tax authority, the Receita Federal, updated its crypto reporting regulations in November 2025, explicitly stating that the updated regulation "does not deal with taxation." The agency's DeCripto reporting framework, scheduled to replace the current model from July 2026, addresses how crypto transactions are reported to authorities rather than how they would be taxed.
Service providers covered by the central bank's November rules still face a compliance deadline of November 2026. However, with the tax consultation now shelved, the fiscal treatment of the transactions those providers facilitate will remain undefined at least through the election period, creating regulatory uncertainty for crypto firms operating in Brazil.
