More Brazilian companies are adopting cryptocurrencies as the country registered the highest number of institutional crypto ownership in August.
The Brazilian Tax Authority reported that it registered more than 12,000 companies in the country that declared they owned cryptocurrency on their balance sheet. This is an increase from the 11,360 companies that declared in July.
However, the number of individuals that declared cryptocurrency assets in the same month declined by 35,000. But with more than 1.3 million people registering, the number is high, and adoption levels are still very high.
The numbers come from the mandatory monthly report from the RFB on the ownership of cryptocurrencies which gives an idea of the market direction.
USDT and Bitcoin leads adoption
Notably, USDT is the major cryptocurrency in use in the country. In terms of transaction volume, the dollar-pegged stablecoin saw the biggest volume among all digital assets.
The total value of USDT transactions in august was over $1.4 billion. This happened across 79,836 transfers, with the average amount per transaction being $18,000.
However, when it comes to the number of transactions, Bitcoin has the highest. There were 2.1 million transfers using Bitcoin, with the average transaction amount being $130.
Other popular cryptocurrencies in the country include USDC, ETH, and the Brazilian Real-pegged stablecoin, BRZ. The fast adoption rate in the country has already influenced traditional financial institutions such as Santander to plan on including cryptocurrencies in their portfolio.
Crypto companies eye Brazil
But it could also drive foreign crypto companies to the region. Fast-growing crypto exchange FTX recently announced a partnership with Visa to launch crypto debit cards for 40 countries, including several in Latin America.
Meanwhile, the accelerated adoption in the country is likely due to the state of the economy, which has made dollar-pegged stablecoins and digital assets attractive.
However, the regulatory clarity on cryptocurrencies, especially in taxation, has also helped. The RFB declared crypto-taxable assets in May and imposed a capital gains tax on the sale. But only investors who trade more than BRL 35,000 (about $7,200) have to declare their trade and pay taxes.
Recently, the Brazilian police busted a group that allegedly used crypto to launder funds.