The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) officially announced this week the integration of USDC into PIX, allowing licensed financial institutions to offer real-time conversion between the Brazilian real and the largest stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. The move marks one of the most concrete steps in the world to connect a State instant payment infrastructure with the regulated crypto universe.
What changes in practice
Following activation, users of authorized institutions can send PIX and receive USDC — or vice versa — in a single operation, without leaving the app. The conversion uses real-time pricing and settlement occurs on PIX rails (traditional 10 seconds) combined with on-chain USDC movement.
For international remittances, the impact is direct: instead of the 1 to 5 business day timeframes of the SWIFT system and fees easily exceeding 5% of the amount, the operation via USDC/PIX closes in minutes with marginal costs.
The regulatory context
The integration takes place under the umbrella of Resolutions 519, 520, and 521, which came into force in February 2026 and ended the regulatory sandbox phase. Since then, virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operate under direct BCB supervision, with requirements for minimum capital, asset segregation, and operation reporting.
In the BCB's regulatory priorities for 2026, stablecoins appear as a central focus — so much so that the tokenized dollar has already surpassed Bitcoin and Ethereum as the main vehicle for crypto transactions in the country.
Tension with Washington
While Brazil advances, the White House has targeted PIX: American authorities classified the system as an "unfair barrier" to US payment processors. The BCB responded firmly, defending PIX as a payment sovereignty issue and refusing any forced opening.
Integration with USDC adds a curious element to this debate: while asserting independence, Brazil adopts a stablecoin issued by an American company (Circle) as a bridge to digital dollars. The practical result is a hybrid system — sovereignty on the rail, neutrality on the asset.
What this means for ON3X users
For ON3X's user base, the PIX/USDC integration validates a thesis we've maintained since day one: regulated crypto, integrated with national infrastructure, is worth more than parallel crypto. PIX rails are already the best in the world for instant payments. Adding USDC to this rail, under BCB supervision, is the shortest path to mass adoption without sacrificing compliance.
ON3X is closely monitoring the technical implementation and the guidelines that will be published by the BCB in the coming weeks. Updates on how the functionality will be exposed on the platform will come soon.