Brazil’s Stock Exchange Shakes Up Crypto Markets with USD-Backed Ethereum and Solana Futures
Brazil just dropped a bombshell on traditional finance—and crypto traders are loving it.
The country''s premier stock exchange is rolling out USD-backed Ethereum and Solana futures contracts, a move that could turbocharge institutional adoption. No more messy fiat conversions—just pure crypto exposure with dollar stability.
Wall Street’s old guard won’t like this one bit.
Solana’s speed meets Ethereum’s dominance in a regulated sandbox. Traders get leverage without the usual offshore exchange headaches. Meanwhile, traditional brokers are stuck explaining why their ‘innovative’ products still can’t settle in under 48 hours.
Another brick in the wall for crypto’s march into mainstream finance. And another headache for bankers who still think blockchain is just for buying JPEGs.
Brazil’s New Altcoin Futures Contracts
B3 made headlines two months ago when it became the world’s first exchange to offer an XRP ETF. This development became possible thanks to regulatory developments in Brazil, a nation that has aimed to become a crypto hub.
Today, B3 expanded Brazil’s presence in the industry with its new futures contracts based on solana and Ethereum:
“B3 is offering new cryptocurrency derivatives instruments to meet the growing demand for products linked to cryptoassets, bringing more innovation and sophistication to our products, in addition to offering more alternatives to investors familiar with blockchain technology”, Marcos Skistymas, B3’s Director of Products, said in a press release.
To be clear, Brazil is far from the first country to offer futures contracts based on these altcoins. In the United States, a Solana futures ETF began trading on the CME three months ago.
Still, B3’s entry into this market is valuable for several reasons. For one thing, the firm plans to offer similar contracts for other popular tokens in the NEAR future, if this proves successful.
The ethereum and Solana futures contracts will be based on the price of underlying assets listed on the Nasdaq. Each ETH contract will be worth 0.25% of the token, while each Solana future will represent five SOL.
Both will be priced in US dollars to attract international investors, and settlements will occur on the last Friday of each month.
B3 also announced that it’ll be readjusting its preexisting Bitcoin futures contract so that each share will be worth 0.01 BTC instead of 0.1.
By making bitcoin futures ten times cheaper, the exchange hopes to attract more retail investors within Brazil. This contrasts with the internationally focused strategy of its new altcoin products.
Of course, Brazil’s demographic of small crypto investors just suffered a higher tax rate, potentially impacting B3’s futures contracts.
Even if these products don’t directly constitute crypto investment, the new taxes also apply to indirect financial entanglements. Hopefully, this won’t present a major obstacle in the future.
