Brazilian lawmakers are considering new laws that officially allow employers to pay employees using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Federal Deputy Louise Philippe de Orleans EBragança has introduced a bill that proposes regulations on crypto payments for wages, compensation and labor benefits.
Bill PL 957/2025, filed on March 12, requires employers to advance some of Brazil’s real-life domestic currency wages, while legalizing voluntary and partial pay payments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).
Preview of Bill PL 957/2025 Draft by Luiz Philippe de Orleans EBragança (translated via Google). Source: Camara.leg.Br
Orleans Braganza, a former descendant of Brazil’s royal family, serves his second term as deputy federal adjutant in Sao Paulo, supporting Truth Social, a social media platform owned by US President Donald Trump.
Bitcoin can only account for 50% of your salary payments
Under the proposed law, Orleans-Braganza asked lawmakers to prohibit employees from paying full crypto pay, exceeding such payments by 50%.
Under the terms of the Brazilian Central Bank’s regulations, “paying salaries on virtual assets is prohibited” except in cases where expatriate employees or foreign workers are involved.
Excerpt from the proposed Bill PL 957/2025 (translated via Google). Source: Camara.leg.Br
The bill allows full crypto payments by “independent service providers” subject to certain contractual provisions.
Otherwise, the share of payments in Brazil’s Rial may not be less than 50% of the total employee payments.
The conversion of amounts paid to the cryptocurrency must follow the exchange rates officially established by the institution approved by the Brazilian Central Bank.
The reason behind the bill
According to Orleans-Braganza, the introduction of crypto pay salaries in Brazil could boost the financial technology sector and attract crypto investments in the local economy.
Furthermore, the measure “reinforces the principle of autonomy of will and allows workers and employers to determine contractual relationships more strongly without compromising basic assurances,” the bill reads.
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The proposal aims to follow successful cryptocurrency payment implementation in many global jurisdictions, including Switzerland, Japan and Portugal.
“In Japan, for example, the law requires separate agreements between employers and employees, as well as specific guidelines for conversion of amounts paid. In Portugal, regulations provided flexibility and encouraged the adoption of virtual assets in the financial sector.”
Some global jurisdictions allow Bitcoin to be used for payments, while many countries such as Turkey and Russia prohibit citizens from using cryptocurrency as a means of payment.
El Salvador – The first country to adopt Bitcoin as its legal currency in 2021 allows voluntary payments in crypto, but following its transactions with the International Finance, it no longer allows tax and government fees for crypto.
According to a March 12 report by Balor International, the Brazilian government has recently pushed a new initiative to promote BRICS transactions using cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
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