Brazil’s Gen Z drives crypto boom as stablecoins, income tokens surge

Finance Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Brazil’s Gen Z drives crypto boom as stablecoins, income tokens surge Digital fixed-income products are experiencing rapid growth, with $325 million distributed on Mercado Bitcoin's platform in 2025. By Francisco Rodrigues | Edited by Aoyon Ashraf Dec 20, 2025, 3:59 p.m. What to know : In Brazil, younger investors (under 24) are driving cryptocurrency adoption, using stablecoins and tokenized bonds as a low-volatility entry point. Digital fixed-income products are growing rapidly, with $325 million distributed in 2025 on the platform. Investor strategy varies by income bracket, with middle-income users favoring stablecoins and lower-income investors opting for traditional cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. In Brazil, cryptocurrency adoption isn’t being led by traders betting big on volatile tokens. It’s being shaped by younger, more cautious investors, often using stablecoins and tokenized bonds as a way to protect their wealth. According to new data from local cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin, shared with CoinDesk via a report titled “Raio-X do Investidor em Ativos Digitais,” the fastest-growing cohort of the investor base this year was under 24. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Participation among that age group increased 56% from the previous year, with many opting for low-volatility assets, such as stablecoins and digital fixed-income products, as their entry point, the report said. These products, offered on the platform as Renda Fixa Digital (RFD), which translates directly to "digital fixed income," allow investors to buy tokenized slices of real-world income-generating assets. Their naming is part of Mercado Bitcoin’s “invisible blockchain” approach. In 2025 alone, RFD volume more than doubled, with Mercado Bitcoin distributing 1.8 billion reals (roughly $325 million) to users. On average, those products delivered 132% of Brazil’s “risk-free” benchmark rate, the Certificado de Depósito Interbancário (CDI). Other protocols in Brazil also offer similar blockchain-based products. Real-world asset (RWA) platforms offering fixed-income products in the country include Liqi and AmFi. The exchange also reported a 43% year-over-year increase in overall crypto transaction volume, with Mondays emerging as the busiest day for both new investors and trading activity. That pattern suggests a shift in how cryptocurrency is being used: from a speculative vehicle to a more integral part of a weekly financial routine. Investing based on income Investor strategy differed sharply by income bracket. Middle-income users were more likely to allocate funds to stablecoins, up to 12% of their portfolios, while keeping 86% in less volatile assets, presumably tokenized bonds. “Important events, like the crypto regulation by the Central Bank and the rise of stablecoins, have further boosted Brazilian interest in digital assets,” Fabrício Tota, VP of Crypto Business at Mercado Bitcoin, said in the report. Brazil’s central bank introduced new cryptocurrency rules last month, requiring crypto service providers to obtain licenses and establishing specific capital requirements. Lower-income investors placed over 90% of their funds in traditional cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, likely seeking higher returns and accepting the added risk, per the report. Stablecoins Brazil passive income fixed-income More For You Protocol Research: GoPlus Security By CoinDesk Research Nov 14, 2025 Commissioned by GoPlus What to know : As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M. GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month. Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B. View Full Report More For You Foundation behind restaking protocol EigenLayer plans bigger rewards for active users By Margaux Nijkerk | Edited by Aoyon Ashraf 23 hours ago An Incentives Committee would direct programmatic token emissions, focusing allocations on participants that secure AVSs and contribute to the EigenCloud ecosystem. What to know : The Eigen Foundation has unveiled a governance proposal aimed at ushering in new incentives for its EIGEN token, shifting the protocol’s reward strategy to prioritize productive network activity and fee generation. Under the plan, a newly formed Incentives Committee would manage token emissions, prioritizing participants who secure Actively Validated Services and expand the EigenCloud ecosystem. The proposal includes a fee model that channels revenue from AVS rewards and EigenCloud services back to EIGEN holders, potentially creating deflationary pressure as the ecosystem grows. 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