Today in crypto, a new framework from the central bank of Brazil brings crypto companies under banking-style oversight, extending Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and foreign exchange (FX) rules to stablecoins, a US Senate committee released a draft crypto bill, and the US cleared crypto funds to participate in staking.
Brazil classifies stablecoin payments as foreign exchange under new rules
Brazil’s central bank completed rules that bring crypto companies under banking-style oversight, classifying stablecoin transactions and certain self-custody wallet transfers as foreign-exchange operations.
Under Resolutions 519, 520 and 521, published Monday, the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) established operational standards and authorization procedures for what it calls Sociedades Prestadoras de Serviços de Ativos Virtuais (SPSAVs), a new category of licensed virtual-asset service providers operating in the country.
The framework extends existing rules on consumer protection, transparency and AML to crypto brokers, custodians and intermediaries.
The rules will take effect on Feb. 2, 2026, with mandatory reporting for capital-market and cross-border operations set to begin on May 4, 2026.
The rules also cover transfers to and from self-custodied wallets when intermediated by a service provider. This means that providers must identify the wallet’s owner and maintain their processes that verify the origin and destination of the assets, even if the transfer itself isn’t cross-border.
Senate Ag releases draft crypto market bill
The US Senate Agriculture Committee released its long-awaited discussion draft of crypto market structure laws on Monday, bringing Congress closer to passing legislation outlining how the crypto sector will be regulated.
The draft included brackets around sections of the bill that lawmakers are still negotiating, and Democrats said the Committee doesn’t have jurisdiction over certain aspects of it and are interested in working with the Senate Banking Committee to ”address issues related to noncontrolling blockchain developers and providers of blockchain services.”
The bill aims to outline the limits of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s power to regulate crypto. The Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over the CFTC, and the Senate Banking Committee is leading parts of the bill relating to securities laws, as it oversees the SEC.
An excerpt of a bracketed portion of the draft bill outlines how the CFTC and SEC should jointly issue rules regarding crypto. Source: Senate Agriculture Committee
Democrat Senator Cory Booker, who helped lead the draft with Republican Agriculture Chair John Boozman, said the discussion draft “would provide the CFTC with new authority to regulate the digital commodity spot market, create new protections for retail customers, and ensure the agency has the personnel and resources necessary to oversee this growing market.”
US opens door for crypto ETFs, trusts to earn staking rewards
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the country’s tax-collection bureau under the Department of the Treasury, has updated its guidance for cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) to include a safe harbor for trusts to stake digital assets.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a Monday X post that the agencies released guidance offering crypto ETPs “a clear path to stake digital assets and share staking rewards with their retail investors.”
According to the guidance available on the IRS website, government agencies would allow crypto trusts to participate in staking, provided they are traded on a national securities exchange, hold only cash and “units of a single type of digital asset,” held by a custodian, and mitigate specific risks to investors.
“The impact on staking adoption should be significant,” said Bill Hughes, senior counsel at Consensys, in a Monday X post.
“This safe harbor provides long-awaited regulatory and tax clarity for institutional vehicles such as crypto ETFs and trusts, enabling them to participate in staking while remaining compliant, Hughes wrote. “It effectively removes a major legal barrier that had discouraged fund sponsors, custodians, and asset managers from integrating staking yield into regulated investment products.”
The guidance followed the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in September, approving generic listing standards, expecting to result in greenlighting crypto exchange-traded funds. The IRS and Treasury noted the SEC rule change as part of the updated guidance.
