Financial regulators in Brazil and Japan announced new measures to combat fraud involving crypto assets. Both initiatives focus on strengthening oversight of digital asset withdrawals, including temporary transaction delays and additional customer verification procedures.
Brazil’s Central Bank (BCdB) approved new anti-fraud rules for the virtual asset sector. The regulator now requires virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to impose a mandatory 24 hour preventive hold on certain transactions. The measure aims to strengthen the security of the financial system and make it more difficult to withdraw funds obtained through criminal activity.
The BCdB said the new requirements responded to the growing use of virtual assets for the rapid transfer of funds stolen through financial fraud. According to the regulator, those transfers are often sent abroad or to non-custodial wallets, making it significantly harder to prevent illicit transactions.
Under the new rules, the mandatory hold will apply to funds exceeding $10,000. The threshold will be calculated based on both individual transactions and a customer’s aggregate daily transfer volume. In addition, VASPs must conduct enhanced reviews of other transactions when required under their internal risk management procedures.
The BCdB emphasized that the measure doesn’t freeze assets or prohibit their subsequent movement. Once a risk assessment is complete, VASPs may process the transaction before the end of the 24 hour period if it meets the applicable requirements.
VASPs will also be required to notify customers whenever a temporary hold is applied. They must maintain records of identified fraud cases and attempted fraud involving virtual asset transactions, including information on the actions taken in response.
According to Brazil’s Central Bank, the new requirements align with international practices and are intended to strengthen protection for financial services users while preserving conditions for the secure development of the virtual asset market. The regulation will take effect on January 1, 2027.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the National Police Agency (NPA), meanwhile, submitted updated recommendations to the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association (JVCEA) aimed at strengthening user protection across crypto platforms. The document outlines a set of additional anti fraud measures.
Key recommendations include:
- enhanced identity verification during account opening;
- more thorough customer due diligence;
- customer warnings about fraud risks;
- temporary restrictions on digital asset withdrawals following fiat deposits or cryptocurrency purchases.
Another proposed measure calls for mandatory pre registration of withdrawal addresses. After a new address is added, the FSA also recommends introducing a waiting period during which withdrawals remain restricted. Regulators believe this approach could reduce the risk of immediate asset withdrawals by attackers after an account has been compromised.
Additional recommendations from the FSA and the NPA include:
- setting reasonable cryptocurrency withdrawal limits;
- strengthening transaction monitoring and oversight of users’ access environments;
- accelerating responses to suspicious activity, including customer action confirmation, transaction restrictions, and, where necessary, account freezes.
The initiatives introduced by Brazil and Japan reflect a growing global trend toward tighter oversight of crypto asset withdrawals. Regulators previously focused primarily on customer identification procedures and transaction monitoring. Temporary withdrawal delays are now emerging as an additional anti-fraud tool, allowing suspicious transactions to be identified before final execution.
As previously reported, analysts at Global Ledger noted that crypto fraudsters require less time to complete the full money laundering cycle than crypto companies need to identify and respond to illicit activity. Separately, Hacken analysts recorded 67 security incidents in the second quarter of 2026, with total losses reaching $763.97 million.
