Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
Transaction tracing and on-chain analysis
Because every transaction on a public blockchain is recorded, it is possible to follow the money. Learn how this tracing works, why it relies on assumptions and who can use it.
Topic
Regulation
Token & Tech articles on Regulation: explainers, analysis and guides with verifiable sources and clearly separated facts and opinions.
Articles on this topic
Finance & Digital Economy · Explainer
What central banks are and how they work
The central bank sets the benchmark interest rate, issues money and looks after the soundness of banks. Learn about its functions, how monetary policy works and what the independence set out in law means.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
Blockchain against record fraud: the real limits
A blockchain makes a record hard to change after it is made, but it does not guarantee the record was correct when it went in. Here is what real projects show and where the limit lies.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
How to analyze the risks of a tokenization project
Before looking at the technology, look at what is behind it. This guide organizes the analysis of a tokenization project into seven layers, with what to ask for and what to watch in each.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
How real estate tokenization works
Tokenizing a property is not putting the deed on a blockchain. It means building a legal structure that defines what the token is worth and linking it to an asset that, in Brazil, remains recorded in the land registry.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Smart contracts applied to real-world assets
In a property, a receivable or a debenture in token form, the smart contract enforces rules. It does not guarantee the asset, does not replace the legal contract and may have administrators with broad powers.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
What smart contracts are and how they work
A smart contract is a program that enforces rules by itself on a blockchain. See where the idea came from, how it works, where it tends to fail and where it fits in Brazilian law.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
Verifiable credentials: practical uses
A verifiable credential is a digital document whose origin and integrity anyone can check. Understand the roles, what verification proves and where it is already used.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
Cryptocurrency taxes in Brazil: obligations and limits
How cryptocurrency is taxed in Brazil depends on where the asset is held in custody. Transactions in the country follow one rule; assets on foreign platforms have followed another, stricter one since 2024. And the way to report to the tax authority changed in July 2026.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Tokenized asset custody: who controls what
Having the token in your wallet does not mean controlling the asset. In a tokenized asset, custody is split among whoever holds the asset, whoever records ownership, whoever has the keys and whoever manages the contract.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
Institutional crypto custody: how it works
When a fund, a bank or an exchange holds crypto assets on behalf of others, the job goes far beyond having a wallet. It involves protecting private keys, segregating assets, reconciling records and proving that the asset exists.
Finance & Digital Economy · Explainer
Drex: proposal, architecture and project status
Drex was born as Brazil's central bank platform for tokenized money and assets. The pilot exposed a privacy problem the tested technology did not solve, and the project changed course. See what it was, what was tested and where it stands.
Finance & Digital Economy · Explainer
Embedded finance: financial services inside platforms
Opening an account in a store's app or taking credit at checkout looks simple. Behind it, a licensed institution provides the service. Learn who is responsible for what and what Brazil's 2025 rule changed.
Crypto & Web3 · Analysis
Centralized versus decentralized exchanges
On a centralized exchange, a company holds your assets and matches orders. On a decentralized one, you trade directly with smart contracts. Each model trades one set of risks for another.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
LGPD and blockchain: tensions and possibilities
Brazil's LGPD assumes personal data can be corrected and deleted. Blockchain was designed so that nothing can be changed. Understanding this clash, and the technical options available, avoids projects that are out of step with the law from day one.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
Tokenization and capital markets: regulatory limits
Putting a share, a bond or a fund unit on a blockchain changes the format of the record, not the nature of the investment. See where regulation draws the line and what is still being tested.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
The secondary market for tokenized assets
Reselling a token that represents an investment is not just a matter of pressing a button in a digital wallet. Here are the trading models that exist and what regulators in Brazil and abroad allow as of October 2026.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
MiCA: the European framework for crypto-assets
Since December 2024, the European Union has had a single rulebook for crypto-asset offerings and for the firms that trade and hold them. Here is what it covers, what it leaves out and what changed when the transition ended in July 2026.
Finance & Digital Economy · Analysis
Neobanks versus traditional banks
In the app, a neobank and a traditional bank look the same. The difference lies in the license each one holds, in what protects your balance and in the business model. Here is what to check.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
What is a DAO and how does its governance work
A DAO is a group that holds funds and makes decisions through smart contracts and on-chain voting. In practice, power tends to concentrate, and the label does not settle legal questions.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
DeFi: what is decentralized finance
DeFi is the name given to financial services provided by programs running on blockchains, with no bank or broker in the middle. The promise is open access; the risks are in the code, the governance and the market.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
What is asset tokenization
Tokenizing means representing a right over an asset in a shared, programmable digital ledger. The idea is simple; what the token actually guarantees to its buyer depends on the legal structure behind it.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
What are stablecoins and how do they hold their value
Stablecoins are crypto assets designed to always be worth the same as a currency, almost always the US dollar. Here is what supports that promise, when it has broken, and which risks fall on the people who use them.
Finance & Digital Economy · Explainer
Open Finance in Brazil: how data sharing works
Open Finance lets you take your financial data from one institution to another and make payments from different apps. Here is how the architecture works, what the rules require of consent and where the limits are.
Finance & Digital Economy · Explainer
Pix: how Brazil's instant payment system works
Behind a Pix that lands in seconds are two core components run by the Central Bank of Brazil, the SPI and the DICT, and a set of rules defining who takes part and how. Here is the path of a transaction and the newest features.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
Anti-money laundering on crypto platforms
Crypto exchanges and custodians have the same basic anti-money laundering duties as a bank. Learn what they are, where they come from and why a platform may ask for documents or hold a transfer.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Real estate tokenization in Brazil: who regulates what
There is no single law on real estate tokenization in Brazil. Each piece of the operation falls under a different authority, and knowing which is which helps you tell a regular offering from an unbacked promise.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
Crypto regulation in Brazil: who oversees what
In Brazil, no single body handles cryptocurrencies. The Central Bank supervises exchanges, the CVM steps in when a token is an investment, the tax authority receives data and Coaf receives money laundering alerts.
Crypto & Web3 · Explainer
Stablecoin regulation: the international picture
Seven jurisdictions, seven timelines. See what official laws and rules require of stablecoin issuers and exchanges, what is already in force in October 2026 and what is still under consultation.
Finance & Digital Economy · Explainer
How the modern financial system works
Every time you get paid, settle a bill or invest, several institutions work together. See how the financial system is organized, who operates it, who supervises it and where the risks lie.
Finance & Digital Economy · Analysis
Stablecoins versus central bank digital currencies
A stablecoin is a private company's promise. A central bank digital currency is money from the state itself. Learn what changes for users, why central banks distrust stablecoins and where public projects stand as of October 2026.
Finance & Digital Economy · Explainer
Tesouro Direto: bonds, fees and risks
Tesouro Direto is how individuals in Brazil buy federal government bonds. See what each bond pays, how much it costs to hold, how to exit before maturity and where the risks lie.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Does a token represent legal ownership of a property?
In Brazil, the owner of a property is whoever appears on its registration record at the Property Registry. Learn why a token does not change that and what it can actually represent.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Token and property title: what is the difference
A property registration record and a blockchain are both forms of record. But one carries public faith and legal effect over the property; the other proves who controls a digital unit. Understand the difference.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Commodity tokenization: gold, energy and agriculture
Gold, energy and grain are physical goods or attributes measured off the network. The token is a promise about that good, and it is only worth as much as the custody, the record and whoever is responsible for them.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
How debenture tokenization works
A tokenized debenture is still a debenture: a company's debt, with an indenture, a trustee and CVM rules. The token changes the record and the trading, not the risk of whoever owes.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Real estate tokenization in the United States
In the United States, a real estate token is usually a security representing a stake in a company that owns the property. Learn the SEC rules, the role of counties and what real cases show.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Tokenization of artworks and collectibles
Buying a fraction of a painting through a token sounds simple. But the work stays in a vault, the right to reproduce it stays with the artist and, depending on the promise made, the token may be a security.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Receivables tokenization: structure and how it works
A receivables token gives the right to part of a stream of payments a company is due to receive. Behind it, the structure that protects investors is securitization, and the CVM treats it as such.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Government bond tokenization: uses and limits
Government bonds have been digital in Brazil for decades. Tokenization promises instant settlement and programmable rules, but official tests show specific gains and limits that remain unsolved.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Real estate tokenization: advantages and limitations
Fractionalization, transfers in minutes and automatic payments are the most cited promises. Reports from international regulators and Brazilian rules show where they hold up and where they still hit limits.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Tokenization in the European Union: legal challenges
The European Union has rules for crypto-assets and a pilot for securities on blockchain, but tokenizing financial assets remains difficult. The problem lies less in the technology and more in how each layer of law sees the token.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
How to tokenize contracts and credit rights
Tokenizing a contract is not putting the PDF on a blockchain. It means transferring, with legal validity, the right to receive a payment, and only then representing that right in tokens, within capital markets rules.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Explainer
Equity tokens and debt tokens
A token can make you a shareholder of a company or a creditor of it. It sounds like a technical detail, but it changes what you receive, when you receive it and what is left if the business fails.
Tokenization & Real-World Assets · Analysis
Fungible versus non-fungible tokens
A token can be identical to every other one in the same issuance or be unique. That technical choice changes its use, its liquidity and, sometimes, its regulatory treatment.
Crypto & Web3 · Analysis
USDT versus USDC: mechanisms, reserves and risks
USDT and USDC promise the same thing: a token worth one dollar. But the issuers, reserves, redemption rules and regulatory status differ. Here is what the official documents show.