KuCoin looking to support BRL transfers with PIX, a renewed push into the Brazilian market

KuCoin, an international cryptocurrency exchange, started supporting Brazilian Real (BRL) deposits and withdrawals. This comes after the Central Bank of Brazil’s recent policy change, which has imposed a deadline for exchanges to update their user verification processes to comply with international regulations regarding fiat-to-crypto transactions.

Indeed, KuCoin is becoming the first global crypto platform to allow local investors to transfer BRL through PIX (a government-backed payment system). This is largely thanks to their partnership with a local payment gateway named Capitual, which presents itself as a hybrid bank, merging finance and technology.

Johnny Lyu, the CEO of KuCoin, pointed out that “as crypto goes mainstream, the lack of a  fiat-to-crypto service remains to be the biggest barrier for mass adoption”. This is especially true in countries such as Brazil, where the instability of the domestic currency has led to many people choosing crypto as an avenue of saving and/or investing their money. Specifically, around 34.5 million Brazilians, or 26% of the adult population, are active crypto investors, as per KuCoin’s Into The Cryptoverse Report. Indeed, this explains the extra attention from Kucoin, and gives reasoning to their desire to launch more features such as fiat trading pairs to help South American investors trade crypto comfortably while staying compliant.

There’s no doubt that even noting the current bear market, KuCoin has been experiencing significant growth in the Brazilian market. The company is even looking to host an airdrop, where they will be offering a welcome bonus to all new Brazilian users. It’s clear that there’s a renewed push into the South-American market, decided upon at an executive level.