Coinbase (COIN) is rolling out decentralized exchange trading (DEX) to users in Brazil just days after the country’s central bank introduced sweeping new rules for crypto businesses.
The move gives Brazilians access to a significantly wider pool of tokens, expanding from a few hundred to potentially millions, without leaving the Coinbase app, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
Coinbase already offers DEX trading to users in the United States, as part of its push to become an “alt app,” a term for an application that offers a variety of services on one platform.
The update allows users to trade base-native tokens moments after they are minted. It routes transactions through platforms such as Uniswap and Aerodrome, removing the need for users to interact directly with unknown decentralized protocols.
Users don’t pay network fees and can manage trades through a built-in self-deposit box, Coinbase added.
The company also added that “assets identified by a trusted third-party vendor as confirmed malicious or fraudulent assets will not be accessible,” before pointing out that it does not review the access offered through DEX integrations.
Earlier this month, Brazil’s central bank released a framework that requires crypto service providers to be licensed, report international transactions and meet capital thresholds of up to $7 million.
The rules bring crypto activities under Brazil’s foreign exchange and capital markets regime and give companies nine months to comply.
Foreign platforms serving Brazilian users, including Coinbase, must establish a local entity or risk being banned. While Coinbase’s DEX function is non-custodial and may fall outside some licensing requirements, the bank’s rules also cover self-custodial wallets when used for international transfers, which are now subject to monthly reporting.
