Brazil Law No. 7,492/1986 Virtual Asset Financial Crimes Amendment

The amendment does not create a standalone licensing code inside Law No. 7,492. Instead, it changes the statute’s perimeter by expanding the class of entities that can fall within the financial-institution concept used across the financial-crimes regime. That matters because Law No. 7,492 contains offenses tied to the operation, management, accounting, disclosures and supervision of financial institutions, including operating an institution without required authorization.

The amendment should be read alongside Law No. 14,478, Brazil’s virtual-assets framework. That framework defines a virtual asset as a digital representation of value that can be traded or transferred electronically for payment or investment purposes, while excluding national and foreign currency, regulated electronic money, loyalty-type access instruments and assets already governed by specific securities or financial-asset rules. It also defines a virtual-asset service provider as a legal entity performing services for third parties, including exchange between virtual assets and fiat currency, exchange between virtual assets, transfers, custody or administration, and services linked to issuance or sale.

The Law No. 7,492 amendment focuses on legal entities offering services connected with virtual-asset operations. In practical terms, the provision is most relevant to centralized intermediaries, exchanges, brokers, custodians and similar service providers acting for third parties. It does not by itself resolve every perimeter question for software, self-custody or decentralized arrangements, and it does not alter the authority of the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários over assets that qualify as securities.

Decree No. 11,563/2023 assigned the Banco Central do Brasil to regulate virtual-asset services and to regulate, authorize and supervise virtual-asset service providers. The decree also states that it does not apply to assets that are securities under Law No. 6,385/1976 and does not alter CVM or consumer-protection competencies. That allocation connects the criminal-law amendment to the later administrative authorization regime.

As of July 8, 2026, the amendment appears to remain in force. The Câmara dos Deputados legislative records for both Law No. 7,492/1986 and Law No. 14,478/2022 state that there is no express revocation recorded. Law No. 14,478 was enacted on December 21, 2022 and published on December 22, 2022, with effectiveness after 180 days. Decree No. 11,563 entered into force on June 20, 2023.

The Banco Central’s later rulemaking is important implementation context. In November 2025, the BCB issued Resolutions BCB Nos. 519, 520 and 521. Resolution 519 addresses authorization processes for societies that provide virtual-asset services. Resolution 520 governs the constitution and functioning of those societies and the provision of virtual-asset services by other BCB-authorized institutions. Resolution 521 brings specified virtual-asset service activities into Brazil’s foreign-exchange framework. The BCB rules entered into force in February 2026, with transition periods for existing providers.

This profile should be framed as a financial-crimes perimeter amendment, not as investment, tax or compliance guidance. Its core function is to connect covered virtual-asset service providers to Brazil’s financial-crimes statute by classifying relevant legal entities as financial institutions for that statute’s purposes. The amendment sits within a broader legal package that also created a Penal Code offense for fraud involving virtual assets and amended Brazil’s AML statute to address virtual assets and virtual-asset service providers.

• Law No. 14,478/2022, Brazil’s virtual-assets framework.
• Decree No. 11,563/2023, assigning BCB regulatory and supervisory competence.
• Resolutions BCB Nos. 519, 520 and 521 of 2025, implementing authorization, operating and foreign-exchange treatment for virtual-asset services.