Self-Custody Wallets: When a Crypto Transfer Must Be Reported to Brazil's Coaf

From 1 October 2026, crypto transfers to or from a self-custody wallet, equal to or above the equivalent of US$ 10,000, are subject to communication of specific transactions to Coaf by the covered institution that intermediates the transaction, under Resolution BCB No. 588. This is a reporting trigger, not a ban, and the wallet owner is not the one who submits the information.

BCB Resolutions 588 and 589, both dated 23 September 2026, cover different subjects and have separate timelines. Resolution BCB No. 588 amends Circular BCB No. 3.978 and sets out when certain transfers must be communicated to Coaf; Resolution BCB No. 589 amends Resolution BCB No. 520, of 10 November 2025. Both instruments have official records in the Banco Central's normativo lookup.

What Resolution BCB No. 588 changes from 1 October 2026

Resolution BCB No. 588, of 23 September 2026 amends Circular BCB No. 3.978 and includes transfers of virtual assets to or from self-custody wallets, at an amount equal to or above the equivalent of US$ 10,000, among the operations subject to communication of specific transactions to Coaf by covered institutions. The amount considered is the value of the transaction, not a fixed number of coins. The resolution takes effect on 1 October 2026. The full text, published in the Diário Oficial da União on 25 September 2026, is reproduced by LegisWeb; the official record is in the Banco Central lookup.

With self-custody, the private key stays with you — on a phone, computer or hardware device — instead of being held by an institution.

The rule uses the equivalent value in US dollars (US$) as its reference. The threshold applies to the transaction value, not to a fixed number of coins.

The reporting threshold is not a ban: a worked example

Take a movement equivalent to US$ 15,000 in virtual assets between your self-custody wallet and a covered institution. The operation remains permitted, and self-custody remains a legitimate choice for anyone who prefers to control their own key. What changes is that this transfer falls within the scope of communication of specific transactions to Coaf by the institution, under Resolution BCB No. 588.

A prohibition would have a different effect: it would stop the operation. What the rule sets is a value threshold and a reporting duty on the institution; it does not bar you from moving your own assets, and being above the threshold does not by itself make the transfer irregular.

Resolution BCB No. 589: three dates, three effects

Resolution BCB No. 589, of 23 September 2026 amends Resolution BCB No. 520, of 10 November 2025. Article 91 bars financial institutions, payment institutions and other institutions authorised by the BCB from conducting or enabling virtual-asset-market operations with counterparties that provide virtual-asset services without BCB authorisation, except where the resolution expressly permits it.

That resolution's calendar has three separate milestones. The first is 1 October 2026, when the amended wording of article 91 takes effect. The second is 6 November 2026, when the prohibition on unauthorised counterparties begins to apply. The third is 1 January 2027, when the resolution's remaining information provisions under Resolution BCB No. 589 take effect: customer balance data, custody amounts by asset and by customer, verifiable proof of reserves and, where relevant, customer assets committed to staking.

The 2027 reports are institution-to-central-bank obligations. Nothing on that list is a submission the user has to make on their own account. The full text of Resolution BCB No. 589, published in the Diário Oficial da União on 25 September 2026, is reproduced in the LegisWeb legislation database; the official record is the BCB normativo lookup linked above.

What changes in practice for someone using a Brazilian institution

• The institution is the one that reports. A transfer to or from self-custody equal to or above the equivalent of US$ 10,000 falls into the communication of specific transactions that the covered institution makes to Coaf, under Resolution BCB No. 588, which takes effect on 1 October 2026.
• The threshold does not freeze the operation. It defines when the transfer is communicated, not whether it may happen; self-custody remains permitted.
• In 2027 the reporting party is still the institution. Balances, custody by asset and by customer, verifiable proof of reserves and assets committed to staking become information the institution provides to the central bank from 1 January 2027, under Resolution BCB No. 589.

Questions that come up most often

Do I have to declare a transfer to my own wallet to Coaf? No. Communication of specific transactions is a duty of the covered institution that intermediates the transaction, under Resolution BCB No. 588, of 23 September 2026; the wallet owner is not the reporting party.

Will I have to send my balances to the central bank from 2027? No. Balance data, custody data, proof of reserves and assets committed to staking are reported by institutions to the BCB, under Resolution BCB No. 589, not by the user.

For a specific operation, the text published by the Banco Central prevails over any summary, including this one.

Published on 25 September 2026 · Published by WEEX · WEEX editorial standards for Brazilian Portuguese