Brazil bars this crypto exchange from brokering securities

Brazil’s Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) or Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has barred crypto exchange Bybit from brokering securities. Brazil’s SEC also published a declaratory act for the same. 

The act noted that the Singapore-based crypto exchange had been barred from offering securities to Brazilian citizens.

Additionally, Bybit has also been suspended from the public offering of any securities, directly or indirectly. This also includes the use of websites, applications, or social networks.

The CVM also stated that if the exchange doesn’t comply with the ban order immediately, the Commission will impose a daily fine of R$ 1,000 (USD 193.5). The authority further added that only the national stock exchange, B3, could offer securities in Brazil.

A little history here

Bybit, established in March 2018, was one of the fastest-growing exchanges, with more than a million registered users. The exchange launched its services in Brazil in April 2022.

The crypto exchange announced that it would allow customers to make purchases through Pix, the central bank’s real-time payment platform. Bybit also offered earning products and a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace for Brazilian users.

In mid-May, the exchange also announced via Twitter, that it was entering a partnership with Brazil’s biggest esports team, MIBR.

So what went down then? 

Brazil has been working on enacting laws around the regulation of cryptocurrencies since 2015. In tune with its policy, the country has also been taking action against cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms that are not in compliance with local laws.

Furthermore, the CVM also published a declaratory act in July that banned the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, from offering derivatives trading services in Brazil.

The Commission has thus, informed in its recent order that ByBit and any associated entities are not authorized to act as securities intermediaries. Furthermore, these exchanges also cannot raise funds from investors for investment in securities.