Brazil’s largest stock exchange, B3, is expanding its crypto offerings with Bitcoin options and Ethereum and Solana futures, while also collaborating with BlackRock on an Ethereum ETF.
Meanwhile, oil giant Petrobras is exploring Bitcoin mining using excess gas from oil extraction to improve energy efficiency.
B3 Expands Amid Growing Investor Interest
Brazil’s biggest stock market, B3, is getting more involved with digital assets. They are starting to offer Bitcoin options and futures contracts for Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL).
This decision comes after their Bitcoin futures contracts have had monthly trade volumes of about $860 million. The goal of the growth is to offer Brazilian traders more chances to invest in the fast-growing crypto market.
B3 worked with BlackRock to create the Ethereum ETF (ETHA39), showing that more people want regulated ways to trade in cryptocurrency. This ETF lets buyers invest in Ethereum without having to own it directly.
In the past year, more people in Brazil are investing. Participation in fixed-income investments has gone up by 34%, and investment in stocks has risen by 23%.
However, there are new rules and regulations coming up, especially for stablecoins. Authorities want to limit stablecoin payments to personal wallets.
This could lead users to use decentralized platforms and trade directly with each other. Stablecoins are important for financial deals because they are less volatile. However, the suggested regulation is making investors worried.
Blockchain is also being used in Brazil’s energy industry, in addition to finance. Petrobras, Brazil’s biggest oil and gas company, has launched a study project looking into Bitcoin mining using energy from gas flaring.
Petrobras wants to improve energy use and lower carbon pollution by using extra gas from oil extraction instead of wasting it. This action matches global attempts to combine crypto mining with green energy, and it could be Petrobras’ first step into digital assets.
