Washington is concerned that Brazil's non-dollar payment systems, including Pix and the rise of stablecoins, could undermine dollar-centric trade, despite stablecoins making up approximately 90% of Brazil's crypto transactions.
By Francisco Rodrigues|Edited by Aoyon Ashraf Jul 18, 2026, 4:09 p.m. 3 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on Donald Trump points at the audience during a press conference at the White House (Getty Images)SummaryShow- The U.S. plans to implement a 25% Section 301 tariff on the majority of Brazilian imports starting July 22, citing unfair advantages associated with Brazil's state-operated Pix instant payment system.
- U.S. trade representatives claim that Pix's regulations, which include free services for consumers and capped fees for merchants, put American payment companies like Visa and Mastercard at a disadvantage in a market where Pix has surpassed card transactions.
- This action is part of the U.S.'s effort to safeguard the dollar, despite the fact that dollar-linked stablecoins are already prevalent in Brazil's digital economy.
Beginning on July 22, the United States will enforce a 25% tariff on a wide range of Brazilian goods, marking the first use of this tariff under a Section 301 strategy that the Trump administration has revived following the Supreme Court's decision to annul its previous import tariffs.
This situation represents a novel application of Section 301, which has typically been employed to address matters like intellectual property violations, subsidies, and access to markets, to specifically challenge a nation's internal payment system.
“Today’s action is essential to combat these unfair trade practices and ensure that American workers and businesses can compete fairly,” stated Ambassador Jamieson Greer in a statement.
Among the practices cited is Brazil's Pix, a state-run instant payment system utilized by over 90% of Brazilian adults, which now processes more transactions than both credit and debit cards combined. The U.S. Trade Representative contends that Pix places American payment firms like Visa and Mastercard at a disadvantage due to a regulation mandating that financial institutions with over 500,000 active accounts must offer Pix services free of charge to individuals.
“The Brazilian central bank incentivizes the use of Pix over other services by requiring that participating institutions provide Pix for free to individuals and capping the fees those institutions can charge to businesses for Pix transactions,” the U.S. Trade Representative noted on X.
Although Visa and Mastercard do not disclose their specific market shares or revenue from Brazil, Pix has experienced rapid growth since its launch in November 2020. Over 170 million individuals have engaged with the system, which processed nearly 7 billion transactions valued at approximately R$3 trillion ($590 billion) in June, according to data from the central bank.
In the latter half of 2025, Pix managed 42.9 billion transactions, while credit, debit, and prepaid cards collectively accounted for just 23.8 billion, highlighting Pix's overwhelming dominance in Brazil's payment landscape.
Pix vs Stablecoins
This dispute arises as Washington becomes increasingly wary of Brazil and other BRICS nations striving to lessen their dependency on dollar-centric payment systems. Brazil has prioritized local-currency settlements and international payment platforms during its 2025 BRICS presidency, although officials clarified that the bloc is not working on a unified BRICS currency.
Interestingly, the demand for the U.S. dollar in Brazil seems unaffected, as it remains widely circulated in the nation's digital economy through blockchain-based payment systems.
Dollar-linked stablecoins are responsible for about 90% of Brazil's crypto transaction volume, predominantly utilized for payments and settlements, as per data from the tax authority.
Brazil handles between $6 billion and $8 billion in cryptocurrency monthly, with a significant portion transacted using dollar-denominated stablecoins rather than the local currency.
Nonetheless, even as the use of dollar stablecoins has surged, Brazil's central bank is taking steps to restrict their application in regulated cross-border transactions. Resolution 561, effective October 1, will prohibit payment providers from executing cross-border payments in stablecoins or other cryptocurrencies, effectively closing a back-end channel that previously allowed reais to be routed through dollar tokens. The central bank views stablecoins as a potential threat to monetary sovereignty, tax compliance, and anti-money laundering efforts.
Pix is now under pressure from both sides, as Washington labels it a trade impediment while Brazilian regulators work to protect it from rising competition from dollar-backed stablecoins.
However, it appears that Pix and stablecoins may not be direct competitors. “Essentially, they complement each other,” remarked Rodrigo Caggiano, founder of the Brazilian real-world asset monitoring platform RWA Monitor, in an interview with CoinDesk. “Pix efficiently addresses domestic instant payments, while stablecoins broaden the possibilities by leveraging blockchain networks.”
U.S. pressure may expedite Brazil's discussions regarding stablecoins and its digital financial framework, Caggiano suggested, as the central bank develops its own tokenized settlement system, Drex, based on similar programmable infrastructure.
This situation may set a precedent for future trade conflicts regarding nations creating their own payment networks, with implications that could extend to countries like India with its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the European Central Bank's proposed digital euro, according to the Atlantic Council.
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Gate Leads Spot Market Share Gains as CEX Volumes Rise for First Time in Five Months
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CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B.
By CoinDesk ResearchJul 13, 2026CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B.
Why it matters:
CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B.
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