Brazil is getting serious about Bitcoin. On August 20, 2025, the Chamber of Deputies will hold a public hearing to discuss a bill that could create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve worth up to $17.2 billion.
The proposal in Bill 4.501/2024 allows the government to invest up to 5% of the country’s foreign exchange reserves in bitcoin. With reserves at around $344 billion, that would make the country one of the biggest bitcoin holders in the world – behind only the U.S. and China.
The bill was introduced by Federal Deputy Eros Biondini in November 2024.
Since then, it has gained attention from lawmakers and financial experts. The legislation creates a sovereign digital asset reserve, called RESBiT, to include bitcoin and other secure digital assets.
Supporters argue it will diversify the country’s reserves, reduce dependence on traditional currencies and protect against geopolitical and economic risks.
“Debating the creation of a sovereign Bitcoin reserve is in the public interest and vital to Brazil’s prosperity,” said Pedro Giocondo Guerra, chief of staff to Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.
The public hearing will be held in Plenary 5 of Annex II at the Chamber of Deputies in Brasília at 4:00 p.m. It’s open to the public and will have experts from the government and private sectors.
Confirmed participants are:
Diego Kolling, Head of Bitcoin Strategy at Méliuz, South America’s biggest corporate bitcoin holder
Rubens Sardenberg, representative from the Brazilian Federation of Banks (FEBRABAN)
Officials from the Central Bank of Brazil, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services
Representatives from Abcripto, Brazil’s digital asset association
The hearing will cover risks, regulatory challenges and economic benefits of including bitcoin in reserves. No forecasts or return estimates have been released yet, so it’s an exploratory process.
The Latin American country is following a global trend. Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve in the U.S. However, not much was heard from this reserve and its development afterwards.
Kazakhstan, India and Sweden have also shown interest or been rumored to be considering similar moves.
If approved, Brazil would not only be part of this global movement but could be the first among developing economies. Analysts say this bold move could trigger other Latin American countries to look into digital assets in their financial systems.
While El Salvador made headlines in 2021 by adopting bitcoin as legal tender, Brazil’s approach is more about using bitcoin as a strategic financial asset, not as a means of everyday transactions.
Deputy Luiz Philippe said that bitcoin is being considered to modernize and strengthen national reserve policy, not to replace the real.
