Brazil seeks 24-hour hold on stablecoins; Paraguay convicts miners

Brazil’s central bank issued a notice of rulemaking that would allow virtual asset service providers to hold stablecoin remittances and cross-border payments for up to 24 hours when transactions exceed $10,000. The notice says funds can be released before the period ends if the intermediary resolves the specific risks identified.

The bank wrote that the retention is “exclusively precautionary in nature” and intended to give intermediaries time to run risk analysis and complete due diligence. The proposed hold targets exchanges and other VASPs that process large stablecoin transfers.

The proposal aims to let intermediaries verify whether a transfer matches a customer’s risk profile and to conduct checks required under anti-money-laundering and countering the financing of terrorism rules. Industry participants warned that an enforced delay on large stablecoin transfers could slow business-to-business payments that rely on fast settlement and prompt VASPs to add extra compliance steps.

In Paraguay, the National Power Administration (ANDE) announced on June 19 that a tribunal found Cristian Daniel Jara Villalba and Ramon Martinez Morinigo liable for large-scale energy theft. Prosecutors say the men bypassed metering equipment and connected to the grid to run bitcoin mining rigs. The court convicted both to two years in jail but suspended the execution of the sentences.

ANDE described the ruling as a legal precedent because one defendant, who held the electricity contract at the site, failed to show he was unaware of the mining activity on his property. Authorities said the case involved deliberate tampering with meters to divert electricity for mining operations.

Binance Charity pledged $3 million in USDT vouchers to residents in Venezuelan provinces affected by recent earthquakes. The program requires proof of address and KYC verification and targets people in La Guaira, Distrito Capital, Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, Falcón and Yaracuy. Assistance will be delivered as 20-USDT vouchers redeemable through Binance’s platform rewards hub.

Binance Charity wrote that users will receive the funds “within a maximum of 30 days from the completion date of their POA.” The organization said the KYC and proof-of-address steps are intended to limit fraud and ensure aid reaches verified residents, while noting that displaced or undocumented people may not immediately qualify.

Stablecoins are widely used for remittances and cross-border transfers because they can settle faster and at lower cost than some traditional channels. Regulators have been moving to apply existing financial crime controls to crypto flows by requiring transaction monitoring and enhanced customer checks for transfers above set thresholds.

Utilities and regulators in several countries have targeted clandestine cryptocurrency mining after incidents where operators bypass meters or use subsidized power, which utilities say can strain local grids and increase commercial losses. Humanitarian groups and some crypto firms have distributed stablecoins in past emergencies because digital vouchers can be delivered quickly to verified recipients who have access to crypto platforms and meet identity requirements.