São Paulo Court Orders Brasil Bitcoin Administrators to Return Assets

A judge from the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJSP) has issued an injunction ordering the administrators of the cryptocurrency exchange Brasil Bitcoin to return the company’s website domain, Pix payment key, and client deposits within 48 hours.

The ruling, signed by Desembargador Rui Cascaldi, suspends the attempted transfer of operations to a parallel entity known as Brasil 8. Failure to comply with the order carries a daily fine of R$ 100,000, capped at R$ 5 million.

The legal action was initiated by co-founder Erick Carlos Castilho Crus, who holds a 40% stake in the company. Crus alleges that managing partners Marco Vinicius Castellari and Jorge de Almeida Alves attempted to migrate the brand, user contracts, and financial flows to Brasil 8 between October 15 and 18. This maneuver effectively excluded Crus from the business, despite the new entity operating from the same commercial premises in São Paulo.

While a lower court judge initially declined to intervene, citing the principle of minimal judicial interference in private autonomy, the TJSP overturned the decision. The appellate court noted a contradiction in the defendants' claims and cited a shareholders' agreement that requires unanimous consent for the transfer of brands, source code, or domains.