Cryptocurrencies, Central Bank, and Federal Revenue: what investors need to do now to be 100% compliant

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Cryptocurrencies, Central Bank, and Federal Revenue: what investors need to do now to be 100% compliant Original Link: The combination of new rules from the Central Bank and the Federal Revenue has placed Brazilian cryptocurrency investors in front of the biggest regulatory overhaul since the creation of the Cryptoasset Law. In just a few months, the country started requiring wallet identification, classified stablecoin operations and international transfers as foreign exchange, expanded tax reporting obligations, and integrated its standards with the global CARF/OECD model.

The result is a more rigorous, transparent environment with less room for informality. But this new scenario raises a warning: many investors have never declared their cryptocurrencies, others have traded exclusively on international exchanges believing they didn’t need to report anything to tax authorities, and there are those who have conducted P2P transactions their entire lives without any documentation. Now, all these profiles are on the authorities’ radar and must comply.

Ripio’s head of compliance, risk, and governance, Renata Mancini, summarizes the importance of this regulatory shift by stating that “Brazil is undergoing one of the most significant regulatory movements since the creation of the crypto market.”

She highlights that BC’s resolutions 519, 520, and 521 created “a model inspired by international standards: prior authorization, asset segregation, robust governance, internal controls, cybersecurity, and minimum custody requirements.”

Meanwhile, she says, the Federal Revenue has aligned its rules with CARF, reinforcing “the need for fiscal transparency and traceability.” According to Mancini, this set of rules increases investor safety because it raises the minimum standards required of crypto companies and reduces the space for informal operations.

The opinions of a certain cryptocurrency platform follow the same line. According to the company, the new Federal Revenue rules, especially the creation of the Cryptoasset Declaration (DeCripto), represent “a fundamental advance in fiscal transparency and integrate Brazil into the international standard for exchange of tax information.”

The company also points out that the main objective of the Federal Revenue is to combat evasion and consolidate data from different jurisdictions, which means that investors who previously flew under the radar, whether by operating outside regulated exchanges or by not declaring their operations, are now being monitored.

How declaration rules work in Brazil

Every investor who owns cryptocurrencies must declare them annually in their Income Tax, reporting the acquisition cost of the assets, regardless of profit or loss. This obligation applies to those using domestic exchanges, international exchanges, personal wallets, or P2P operations.

Additionally, when the taxpayer operates through foreign platforms that do not make automatic reports to the Federal Revenue, there is also a monthly declaration obligation for operations, especially when the traded volume exceeds the limits established in the current regulatory instructions.

Regarding taxes, the capital gains tax rule states that monthly sales up to R$ 35,000 are exempt, while amounts above that pay income tax ranging from 15% to 22.5%, according to the profit bracket.

Recently, valid until February 2026, the Special Regime for Asset Update and Regularization (Rearp) was created. It does not replace these rules; in fact, it works as an extraordinary program designed to regularize undeclared assets.

Under this program, on the total value of cryptoassets as of December 31, 2024, a presumed tax of 15% plus an equal penalty is levied, totaling 30%. The taxpayer can pay in full or in up to 36 installments, and the regularization extinguishes debts and penalties related to the assets.

Now, considering different investor profiles, here are some points to pay attention to:

Those using domestic exchanges

This is one of the most common profiles in Brazil. Many investors believe that by operating on local brokers, their obligations are automatically fulfilled. But authorities make it clear that tax responsibility always lies with the taxpayer.

Renata Mancini reinforces that the investor must “keep a record of operations and declare everything in the IRPF, regardless of whether the platform reports or not, the tax responsibility is always the investor’s.”

A cryptocurrency platform adds that, with DeCripto, those operating on domestic exchanges need to ensure they are meeting the new declaration obligations, since the system was created specifically to increase transparency and standardize information sharing based on CARF.

Those using international exchanges

For many years, this was the main loophole used by Brazilian investors to operate without reporting transactions to the government. Now, this scenario has completely changed. The Federal Revenue now requires foreign exchanges to report data on Brazilian clients and, even when this does not occur, the investor must declare all their transactions themselves.

Renata Mancini warns: “Those using international exchanges need to record all transactions, because these companies do not send data to the Federal Revenue [at least not yet].” The cryptocurrency platform points out that international investors now fall “within the scope of DeCripto,” and their information may be shared between countries, following the global standard of fiscal transparency.

Those partially or fully operating via P2P

P2P transactions have always been common in the Brazilian crypto market, especially before the consolidation of local exchanges. But this has never exempted the investor from declaring their operations, and now, with the new regulatory framework, oversight is even more structured.

A cryptocurrency platform explains that using P2P requires extra attention because the purpose of the new rules is precisely to “reduce perceived risks and combat evasion.” Even outside exchanges, transactions must be recorded and declared, as Brazil is integrating its systems with the international CARF standard.

Renata reinforces that the investor should keep receipts, record acquisition costs, and declare everything correctly. Informality, which previously went unnoticed, is now likely to be quickly identified by data cross-checking—especially if it involves stablecoins and international operations.

Those who have never declared cryptocurrencies

This is the group most exposed to regulatory risk. Many investors bought Bitcoin years ago, kept it in personal wallets or made occasional transactions, believing that declarations were only necessary above certain amounts or only at the time of sale. This was never true—and now it is even more clear.

For a cryptocurrency platform, those who have never declared need to “be especially alert,” because DeCripto strengthens monitoring and increases the Federal Revenue’s supervisory capacity. The goal is to consolidate data and reduce evasion, which puts these investors directly at the center of new requirements.

Renata Mancini explains that the new regulatory environment creates “greater clarity about who is authorized, how assets are protected, how custody works, and what your rights are,” and that investors with a history of informality will need to regularize their situation.

An additional point is that there is now Rearp. The mechanism was created precisely to make life easier for taxpayers who want to adjust their position before falling into the tax authorities’ net.

The final message from the authorities is direct: operating cryptocurrencies in Brazil remains permitted, but now within a much more controlled and documented environment. Those who already followed the rules only need to adjust a few procedures, while those who never declared or operated in gray areas need to act fast. The “unsupervised market” phase is over, and regularization becomes an essential part of any crypto investor’s strategy in the country.