Banco Central Rejects First Crypto Company Under New Regulations

The Banco Central of Brazil has denied authorization to Higherway Tech Soluções Ltda., the first company to be rejected under new regulations for crypto companies in the country.

The decision was made on August 25, but only published in the Diário Oficial da União on Monday (28). The move is due to a lack of formal authorization for activities with virtual assets under the new regime created by the BC. According to the rules, after exhausting all avenues of appeal, companies have up to 30 days from receiving notification to cease operations that require BC approval.

The Higherway company operated under the brand name Higher Global Payments and offered services such as over-the-counter (OTC) trading for large volumes with cryptocurrencies, payment with digital assets, bank-as-a-service infrastructure, commercial exchange, and solutions for international payments, including stablecoins. The company also appeared on the Banco Central's registry as a correspondent of Banco BS2 since 2021.