Brazil Central Bank to Hold $10K+ Crypto Transfers for 24 Hours

Brazil's central bank published a rule August 7 that will force exchanges to hold international crypto transfers above $10,000 for 24 hours starting January 1, 2027. The measure, Resolution BCB No. 584/2026, targets financial fraud where criminals move stolen funds through crypto or stablecoins before victims can recover them. The $10,000 threshold applies to single transfers and cumulative transfers within the same day, so splitting a large amount into smaller chunks will not avoid the hold. Exchanges can also delay smaller transfers if they flag them as suspicious.

Under the resolution, exchanges must run risk assessments on each transfer. They look at the customer's profile and the destination jurisdiction. If a review finds no red flags, the exchange can release the funds before the 24 hours are up. The exchange must document that decision. When a transfer is held, the exchange must notify the customer with a clear reason.

Regina Pedroso, president of Brazilian tokenization group Abtoken, said the rules could impose additional costs on legitimate users and hurt the competitiveness of domestic exchanges. That critique will likely grow as the January 2027 deadline approaches. Abtoken's concern is that fraud prevention measures end up penalizing regular market activity.

The rule also covers transfers to self-custody wallets, not just foreign exchanges. That means any large outbound movement, including individuals moving their own funds to hardware wallets or personal addresses abroad, faces the same delay.