Latin America’s crypto landscape is being shaped by two very different forces at once: tighter regulation for speculative event-based products and growing momentum behind Bitcoin mining infrastructure. In the latest regional roundup, Brazil introduced a broad ban on non-financial prediction market contracts, while a new mining industry report highlighted the region’s expanding role in global hash rate growth. At the same time, one of Brazil’s biggest banks is backing a company focused on turning stranded renewable energy into Bitcoin mining capacity.
Brazil draws a clearer line around prediction markets
Brazil’s National Monetary Council issued Resolution No. 5,298 on April 24, establishing a general prohibition on derivative contracts tied to non-financial underlying events. The measure specifically bans contracts linked to real sports events, virtual events in online gaming, and real or virtual political, electoral, social, cultural, or entertainment events.
The rule is notable because it does not prohibit derivatives across the board. Instead, it draws a distinction between event-based markets that regulators view as resembling gambling and derivatives connected to recognized financial and economic benchmarks. According to the resolution, contracts tied to price or index rates, securities indices, bond indices, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and the prices of commodities, financial assets, and securities traded on organized exchanges or over-the-counter markets remain allowed.
The move followed a technical note from Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting, the country’s gambling regulator. That note argued that prediction market platforms effectively “simply reproduce the essential elements of fixed-odds betting.” This characterization helps explain the regulatory logic behind the ban: the concern is less about blockchain or digital markets themselves and more about whether these products function as betting instruments under another name.
For market participants, the decision signals that Brazil wants a sharper separation between financial risk-transfer tools and contracts based on sports, politics, or entertainment outcomes. In practical terms, that could narrow the scope for certain crypto-adjacent and Web3-native prediction market models in one of Latin America’s largest economies.
Hashrate Index sees Latin America gaining ground in Bitcoin mining
While Brazil is tightening rules in one part of the market, the region is also attracting attention for a very different reason: Bitcoin mining. Hashrate Index, in its report titled “The State of Bitcoin Mining in Latin America (2026)”, argued that Latin America may be on the verge of becoming a much larger player in the global mining industry.
Global Bitcoin mining remains dominated by countries such as the United States, China, and Russia. Even so, the report pointed to structural advantages in Latin America that could support a greater regional role over time. Paraguay already ranks among the countries hosting the most Bitcoin hash rate, with 43 EH/s, representing 4.3% of global hash rate. That alone makes the region difficult to ignore.
The report also highlighted Brazil and Venezuela as markets with meaningful upside. Brazil, in particular, posted a 133% year-over-year increase in its share of Bitcoin hash rate. That is a striking growth figure and suggests that the country’s mining economics may be improving faster than many observers expected.
One reason is the changing energy market environment. According to the report, miners in Brazil can now negotiate more directly with companies in the power generation market to lock in electricity rates. By bypassing distribution tariffs and certain additional charges, miners may be able to build more competitive energy procurement strategies. Since electricity is the central cost variable in Bitcoin mining, any structural improvement in access and pricing can materially change the investment case.
Venezuela, meanwhile, was described as a market with underused potential. Even under current constraints, the country accounts for 5 EH/s of hash rate. That figure suggests that if operating conditions improved, Venezuela could play a much larger role in the regional mining landscape.
Itau Ventures backs mobile mining linked to renewable energy
The investment angle adds another important layer to the story. Itau, one of Brazil’s largest banks, is now connected to the mining sector through its venture arm, Itau Ventures. According to local media cited in the roundup, the firm invested in Minter, a company working on a problem that has become increasingly relevant for energy producers: curtailment in green energy projects.
Minter’s approach is to pair Bitcoin mining hardware with mobile container infrastructure. Rather than treating mining as a permanently fixed industrial operation, the company is building a model that can be deployed closer to where renewable energy is produced. The idea is to consume energy that would otherwise be wasted, curtailed, or left unmonetized.
The reported investment can reach up to $10 million. That is significant not only because of the capital involved, but because of the signal sent by Itau’s name. When a major traditional financial institution backs a mining-related venture, it suggests that Bitcoin mining is increasingly being viewed not just as a speculative crypto activity, but also as an energy and infrastructure optimization business.
This framing has become more important globally as miners seek lower-cost, more flexible, and more sustainable power sources. For renewable energy operators, mobile mining can offer a way to monetize electricity in locations where grid connectivity is limited or where output must be curtailed during periods of weak demand. For miners, that can translate into access to power that may be both cheaper and more adaptable than conventional arrangements.
A region of tighter rules and broader mining opportunity
Taken together, the developments in Brazil and the broader Latin American market show a region moving in two directions at the same time. On the regulatory front, authorities are drawing harder lines around products that appear too close to gambling, especially when tied to sports, politics, and entertainment outcomes. On the infrastructure front, however, the region is being reassessed as a serious destination for Bitcoin mining growth.
That contrast matters. It shows that “crypto regulation” in Latin America is not a single trend moving uniformly toward restriction or liberalization. Instead, policymakers and investors are separating use cases. Some market segments, particularly those that raise consumer protection or gambling concerns, may face heavier scrutiny. Others, especially those linked to energy efficiency, industrial load balancing, and productive use of stranded power, may continue to attract capital.
Brazil sits at the center of both narratives. It is tightening oversight of non-financial prediction market contracts while simultaneously emerging as a more credible Bitcoin mining jurisdiction. The country’s 133% annual growth in hash rate share, the ability for miners to negotiate more directly on power pricing, and the involvement of a major bank through a potential $10 million investment all point to an ecosystem that is evolving quickly.
For companies operating in the region, the message is clear: compliance boundaries are becoming more defined, but so are infrastructure opportunities. In Latin America, the next phase of crypto growth may depend less on speculative product experimentation and more on how effectively firms align digital asset activity with local energy realities, industrial policy, and financial regulation.