Brazil's central bank panel banned Banco Topazio from foreign crypto operations for two years citing $1.7 billion in irregular trades and a $3.2 million fine. What this means for compliance and exchange risk in Latam.
The Central Bank of Brazil enforcement arm has cut off a bank’s access to foreign crypto markets for two years, citing $1.7 billion in irregular transactions. The action against Banco Topazio sends a clear signal: compliance gaps in crypto operations carry real suspension risk, not just fines.
The Administrative Sanctioning Process Decision Committee (Copas) of the Central Bank of Brazil imposed a two-year ban on Banco Topazio’s foreign cryptocurrency trading operations. The penalty follows an investigation that found the bank disregarded compliance measures between October 2020 and September 2021. During that period, Banco Topazio executed cryptocurrency purchases without determining the qualification of the third parties benefiting from these operations.
The committee determined that Banco Topazio’s trading volume reached $1.7 billion involving 15 legal entities without notifying authorities of atypical operations. The bank was fined $3.2 million for three specific failures: improper determination of customers’ financial capacities, deficient registration procedures, and failure in assessing AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) risks.
| Banco Topazio Penalty Summary | Value |
|---|---|
| Ban duration | 2 years |
| Trading volume flagged | $1.7 billion |
| Legal entities involved | 15 |
| Fine amount | $3.2 million |
| Violation period | Oct 2020 – Sep 2021 |
Brazil has been intensifying crypto enforcement. Earlier in 2025, Brazil crypto seizures jumped 600% to $14 million, underscoring a broader regulatory crackdown. The Banco Topazio case raises the bar for AML/CFT compliance among financial institutions that touch crypto. Any bank or payment provider routing cross-border crypto transactions through Brazil now faces a higher audit risk. For traders and businesses, the key question is which other banks may be under investigation.
Risk to watch: The Central Bank of Brazil could extend its scrutiny to other banks with large crypto exposure, potentially disrupting on-ramps and off-ramps for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading in the region.
While Brazil tightens enforcement, Venezuela is rolling out a different reception. Fred Ersham, co-founder of Coinbase and venture capital firm Paradigm, has traveled to Venezuela several times and met with government officials, including interim president Delcy Rodriguez and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, according to Bloomberg. Ersham, with a net worth of $2.6 billion, expressed interest in investing in fintech, payments, energy, and gas.
Ersham appeared at a tech event organized by Banco de Venezuela, a state-owned bank, promoting the country’s potential to become “the best country in Latam.” However, Venezuela remains under U.S. sanctions, and any crypto-related investment carries legal and reputational risk. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has previously targeted Venezuelan crypto transactions. For investors, the potential upside of a first-mover advantage in a dollar-starved economy must be weighed against sanctions exposure and counterparty risk with state entities.
Practical rule: If a U.S. person or entity engages with sanctioned jurisdictions via crypto, compliance with OFAC regulations is non-negotiable. Due diligence on end-users and beneficiary banks is mandatory.
On the other end of the risk spectrum, Grupo Salinas, one of Mexico’s largest business conglomerates, has partnered with Anchorage Digital to integrate stablecoins into its cross-border payment flows. Coinpro, the group’s cryptocurrency platform, will use Anchorage’s Stablecoin Solutions for Banks to compress settlement cycles.
Nathan McCauley, co-founder and CEO of Anchorage Digital, stated: “Grupo Salinas shares our conviction that digital dollars will power the next generation of cross-border finance, and we’re proud to partner in bringing that vision to life.” The partnership is a real-world test of whether stablecoins can function as settlement rails for large corporate treasuries. If successful, it could accelerate adoption among other Latin American conglomerates and reduce reliance on traditional correspondent banking.
Key insight: For traders, this development increases the likelihood that USDC and USDT become more liquid in Mexican peso pairs, potentially narrowing spreads. It also introduces operational risk: if Anchorage’s compliance layer fails or a stablecoin depegs, settlement chains break.
For the broader crypto market, the Latam region remains a high-signal zone. Brazil’s enforcement sets a compliance floor. Venezuela’s reopening tests sanctions boundaries. Mexico’s stablecoin integration tests infrastructure readiness. Each is a distinct risk event for anyone building a watchlist with regional exposure.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.