Brazil: more than 12,000 companies own cryptocurrencies

In Brazil, data from the Receita Federal do Brasil (RFB) – the country’s tax authority – reports a new record: in August, more than 12,000 companies owned cryptocurrencies.

Brazil sets new record: over 12,000 companies own crypto

According to reports, the Receita Federal do Brasil (RFB) released data on cryptocurrency declarations in August 2022 by companies, recording record numbers.

Indeed, there were as many as 12,053 companies (or CNPJs) that declared to own crypto in the summer month, the first time this number has ever been reached in the country. 

In practice, this number represents a 6.1% increase from July’s 11,360 companies and is the month with the highest number of companies with cryptocurrency holdings to date.

On the other hand, as for the number of individual investors (or CPFs) holding crypto, it appears to have decreased in August compared to the previous month, falling to 1.3 million. 

At the same time, the value of crypto transactions also dropped, from a total in August of $2.1 billion (11 billion Brazilian reais), to $3.4 billion in July. 

Brazil: Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) are the most widely-held crypto

The RFB data also confirm that in August, the top two cryptocurrencies traded by Brazilians are the queen Bitcoin (BTC), followed by the stablecoin with the highest market capitalization: Tether (USDT).

As for the rest of the stablecoins, in the summer month there seems to have been a decline in use. In the ranking of the most used crypto assets, USDC and BUSD lost positions to Ethereum (ETH), BRZ, and Chiliz (CHZ).

XRP, ADA and SOL, on the other hand, remained unchanged in their ranking position. 

In addition to the type of crypto, the RFB also reported other data, such as the percentage number of transactions that are up for women with 18.9%, although the value of these transactions is lower than that of men.  

Voting using blockchain technology

Remaining in the country of the world’s most famous carnival, precisely in August, it seems that Brazil’s Voting Authority (TSE) reportedly declared that it would be possible to vote using blockchain. 

An option to modernize the country’s voting system, making it more transparent and decentralized, which was discussed by infrastructure modernization coordinator Celio Castro Wermerlinger in his “Elections of the Future” research program. 

Also speaking at the conference was Professor Avelino Zorzo, who would outline the entire evolution of the electoral system in Brazil up to and including the operation of electronic ballot boxes, also explaining how auditing, vote inspection, and other things work. 

Among many other things, Zorzo would describe how crypto and blockchain could be used in the future precisely to have an increasingly better system for voting.