Brazil Leads Latin America in Crypto Trading with $6 Billion Volume Surge in 2024

Brazil has emerged as a dominant force in cryptocurrency trading within Latin America, boasting a staggering $6 billion in trading volume in the first months of 2024, according to data from Kaiko Research. This marks a substantial 30% increase from the previous year and solidifies Brazil's position as the largest market in the region and the seventh-largest globally in terms of fiat currency trade. Notably, Brazilian real-denominated trading volumes have surpassed those denominated in the United States dollar since late January. Stablecoins, particularly Tether (USDT), have witnessed a significant surge in popularity, representing almost half of all trades in 2024, with its market share rising by nearly 20% since the 2021 bull market. In terms of assets, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) together accounted for 43% of Brazilian real trade volumes, although they constitute over 70% of USD-denominated volumes. Binance currently commands the largest market share in Brazil at 79% of transactions, although its dominance has been gradually declining. Conversely, homegrown exchanges like Mercado Bitcoin and Mexico-based Bitso have seen their combined market share rise to 21% by early May, reaching its highest point in over three years, as per Kaiko's report.