{"id":1464,"date":"2026-02-11T03:40:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/soberano.news\/?p=1464"},"modified":"2026-02-12T08:46:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T05:46:19","slug":"lula-government-wants-to-treat-bitcoin-purchases-as-foreign-exchange-in-order-to-charge-iof-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/soberano.news\/en\/estruturas-juridicas\/governo-lula-quer-tratar-compra-de-bitcoin-como-cambio-para-cobrar-iof-de-35\/","title":{"rendered":"Lula government wants to treat Bitcoin purchases as foreign exchange in order to charge IOF of 3.5%"},"content":{"rendered":"

The federal government study<\/a> yet another Bitcoin tax for Brazilians. Under discussion at the Ministry of Finance and the Internal Revenue Service, a new proposal envisages equate the purchase of cryptocurrencies with exchange transactions<\/strong>, paving the way for the collection of IOF of up to 3.5%<\/strong> on purchases of Bitcoin and other cryptoassets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, this means making it more expensive to access digital assets that many Brazilians use as protection against inflation, devaluation of the real and economic instability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cryptocurrency purchases to be treated as sending money abroad<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the government, by buying cryptocurrencies, citizens would be doing something equivalent to a foreign currency conversion, as if they were buying dollars or sending funds out of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This interpretation would allow the same IOF rate to be applied to certain foreign exchange transactions. But unlike the dollar, the Bitcoin is not a state currency, does not depend on central banks and does not circulate within the traditional financial system<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technically, cryptocurrencies are closer to digital archives<\/strong> than anything else. Cryptoasset transactions are like text messages on a computer. distributed network<\/strong>. And the servers are spread all over the world, with no official headquarters in any country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, the IRS sees the growth of the crypto market as a \u201cloophole\u201d that needs to be closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More tax to \u201ccorrect distortions\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Internally, the talk is of tax equality. For the government, it wouldn't make sense to heavily tax traditional financial operations while crypto-asset transactions remain outside the immediate reach of the Financial Operations Tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, however, the measure works like an entry tax on Bitcoin<\/strong>, This penalizes those who try to preserve value outside the real and the banking system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are already taxed when there are sales above R$ 35 thousand in the month<\/strong>, as long as there is capital gain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A possible IOF charge would completely change this logic: each purchase would be automatically charged 3.5%<\/strong>, regardless of whether the investor makes a profit or even a loss in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small investors most affected<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If the proposal goes ahead, the impact will be greatest precisely on those who buy small amounts frequently - ordinary Brazilians who make monthly contributions, fractional purchases or use crypto as a store of value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the most affected are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n