Unblock files for Banco Central do Brasil approval to operate as a virtual asset broker

Brazilian payments infrastructure fintech Unblock submitted its application to Banco Central do Brasil on October 17, 2026, seeking authorization to operate as a Sociedade Prestadora de Serviços de Ativos Virtuais (SPSAV) in the broker category, with participation in the foreign exchange market. For high-risk payment providers, the timing matters: from November 2026, financial and payment institutions will not be allowed to carry out or facilitate transactions with virtual asset service providers that do not have authorization.

1. Unblock, which provides international payments infrastructure using stablecoins, said the application is currently under review by the central bank. Because the company was already operating before February 2, 2026, when the new rules took effect, it used the transitional regime. Under that regime, October 30, 2026 is the deadline to submit the documentation for the first phase.
2. The process is governed by BCB Resolutions No. 519, 520 and 521 of 2025, as well as BCB Normative Instruction No. 704 of 2026. A day before Unblock’s filing, Crown, issuer of stablecoins tied to the Brazilian real, announced its own application to Banco Central do Brasil to operate as a cryptoasset broker.
3. According to Nicole Meneghetti, partner and chief legal and compliance officer (CCLO) at Unblock, the authorization consolidates work that began from day one. “We built the company with a regulated environment in mind, because we understand that the adoption of stablecoins in international payments depends on trust, transparency and regulatory compliance,” she said. “Participation in the FX market allows us to integrate these two worlds safely for our clients.”
4. The licensing process has two stages. In the first, Banco Central do Brasil reviews the corporate structure, controlling shareholders, governance, capital and business plan. If the assessment is favorable, the process moves to a second phase, where the company must show adequate operational structure, internal controls, cybersecurity and an anti-money laundering program, including an assurance report prepared by an independent audit firm. Unblock says it is already preparing for that second stage.
5. The company says the authorization is central to its strategy. From the start, it built its operation for a regulated environment, with investments in compliance, anti-money laundering, on-chain transaction monitoring and governance. For institutional clients, Unblock says, working with a provider authorized by the central bank is a requirement, not a differentiator.

The detail that matters for PSPs and banks is the November 2026 cutoff in Article 91 of BCB Resolution No. 520 of 2025, as amended: once that date hits, unlicensed virtual asset providers become a problem for financial and payment institutions that want to keep moving money through Brazil’s regulated rails.