Crypto trade volumes in Brazil have spiked in the first months of 2024. According to data from Kaiko Research, crypto trading activity in the country is up 30% year-over-year.
From January to early May 2024, crypto trading volume denominated in Brazilian real reached $6 billion, marking a 30% increase from the previous year. Thus far, in 2024, the country has ranked as the largest market in Latin America and the seventh-largest worldwide in terms of fiat currency trade, said Kaiko.
In the first four months of 2024, crypto trading volume in the Mexican peso was $3.7 billion, while the Argentine peso volume was approximately $300 million.
“Despite the recent market correction, BRL trade volumes are still up 30% compared to last year,” reads the report, adding that BRL trade volumes have been growing faster than United States dollar trade volumes since late January.
Stablecoins are becoming more and more popular over Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies in the country. Almost half of all trades in 2024 involved stablecoins, according to Kaiko, with Tether’s (USDT) market share rising by nearly 20% since the 2021 bull market.
According to data from B3, a primary financial market infrastructure provider in the country, the Brazilian crypto market now has 13 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including popular funds from Hashdex and BlackRock. Bitcoin ETFs have been traded in the country since 2021, managing about 2.5 billion reals (~ $500 million) as of March.
“BTC and ETH accounted for a combined 43% of BRL trade volumes. For context, they make up more than 70% of USD-denominated volumes.”
Binance currently holds the largest market share in Brazil at 79% of transactions, though its dominance has been shrinking. In contrast, the largest Brazilian exchange, Mercado Bitcoin, along with Mexico-based Bitso, have seen their combined market share climb to 21% by early May, reaching its highest point in over three years, Kaiko reported.
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