Brazil’s securities regulator has approved the country’s first spot XRP exchange-traded fund, which comes as the asset rose 8% over the past 24 hours.
The Hashdex Nasdaq XRP Index Fund has been green-lit for trading in Brazil after being approved by the country’s securities regulator, the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários, on Feb. 19.
An official date for trading on Brazil’s B3 exchange has yet to be announced. Fund manager Hashdex said it would provide more details soon.
Hashdex offers a number of crypto ETFs in Brazil, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and funds for DeFi, Web3 and the metaverse.
It comes as the United States securities regulator, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, acknowledged several spot XRP
ETF filings from Nasdaq and Cboe BZX exchanges on behalf of CoinShares, Canary Capital, and WisdomTree.
XRP prices reacted with a 7.8% gain on the day to reach $2.72 at the time of writing. The cross-border token is currently just 20% away from its all-time high.
Brazilian bank to launch stablecoin on XRPL
Meanwhile, Braza Group, a player in Brazil’s interbank market, is launching a new stablecoin pegged to the Brazilian real on Ripple’s blockchain, XRP Ledger.
“We are committed to offering a stablecoin that not only meets but exceeds the highest security and compliance standards,” said Marcelo Sacomori, CEO of Braza Group, in the Feb. 19 announcement.
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The real-pegged stablecoin called BBRL will be backed by Braza Bank, which specializes in foreign exchange services and international payments. The bank is not among the top 10 in Brazil in terms of assets and deposits, but it claims to be the largest exchange bank in the country.
“Launching a stablecoin like BBRL on the XRP Ledger creates significant opportunities for the Brazilian market while also laying the groundwork for broader adoption across South America and beyond,” said Markus Infanger, senior vice president at RippleX.
Related: Brazil’s self-custodial stablecoin ban to catalyze decentralization
The stablecoin launch is slated for the first quarter of 2025, and it will initially be available to institutional clients only before expanding to business-to-consumer customers. “By the end of next year, we expect BBRL to capture about 30% of the market in Brazil,” said Sacomori.
Braza Group is also participating in DREX, a Brazilian central bank blockchain initiative exploring asset tokenization, cross-border payments, and a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Earlier this month, Brazil’s central bank chief, Gabriel Galipolo, said crypto asset usage in the country had surged over the past few years, with around 90% of the flow linked to stablecoins.
He also said that DREX is not fundamentally a CBDC but rather an infrastructure aimed at improving credit with collateralized assets.
