Brazil bans the cryptocurrency exchange ByBit from brokering securities

The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange ByBit has been prohibited from brokering stocks by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM).

The CVM mandated the suspension of the "public offering of any securities intermediation services, directly or indirectly, including through the use of websites, applications, or social networks" by ByBit to Brazilians in a declaratory act released on Monday.

Without being authorized to function as a securities intermediary, ByBit was allegedly "seeking to raise funds from investors residing in Brazil for investments in securities." Securities can only be offered on the B3 stock exchange in Brazil.

An inquiry for comment from ByBit was not answered.

ByBit must adhere to the restriction immediately, the CVM continued, or the commission would levy a daily punishment of 1,000 Brazilian reals (about $194).

In April, ByBit announced the debut of income goods and a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace as well as the ability for Brazilian customers to buy cryptocurrencies using Brazilian reals.

ByBit informed CoinDesk InfoMoney in June that it was actively monitoring the Brazilian discussion over cryptocurrency regulation in order to adopt the right course of action and avoid a repetition of Binance, which was shut down by the CVM in 2020.

By fLEXI tEAM