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Brazil Bars Major Pension Funds From Investing in Cryptocurrencies
The move contrasts with developments in other countries, such as the U.S. and U.K., where some pension funds have begun to experiment with crypto exposure.
Mar 31, 2025, 2:32 p.m.
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What to know:
- Brazil's CMN prohibited a specific class of pension funds from using crypto in their reserve portfolios.
- The decision contrasts with moves by U.S. states allowing limited crypto exposure in pension funds.
- The rule affects thousands of workers whose retirements depend on regulated fund management.
Brazil’s top financial policy body banned some pension funds from investing in cryptocurrencies because they are too risky.
The National Monetary Council (CMN) forbade closed pension entities known as Entidades Fechadas de Previdência Complementar (EFPCs) from allocating any portion of their guarantee reserves into bitcoin (BTC) or other digital currencies.
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The EFPCs manage retirement savings for tens of thousands of unionized and company-employed workers and their reserves are typically made up of bonds and equities.
“The resolution also prohibits investments in virtual assets, considering their specific investment characteristics and associated risk,” a Ministry of Finance notice circulating among local news outlets reads.
The ruling was published last week under under Resolution 5.202/2025 by the National Monetary Council (CMN).
In contrast, last year British pension specialist Cartwright guided the country’s first pension fund to make a bitcoin allocation worth 3% of its assets. Several U.S. states have begun experimenting with crypto allocations for their pension systems, despite federal-level caution. Wisconsin’s state investment board, for example, revealed in February it had invested $340 million in bitcoin through BlackRock’s ETF (IBIT).
The ruling does not appear to apply to open pension funds or individual retirement products sold by banks and insurers. These are regulated separately and may allow indirect investment through exchange-traded funds or tokenized asset platforms.
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