Why Is Bity Closing? Brazil's 2026 Shutdown and Customer Migration

Bity helped Brazilian customers compare cryptocurrency prices across competing exchanges. Now it is arranging for customers to leave its own retail brokerage.

The company says it had served more than 850,000 users, connected over 30 exchanges and handled more than R$100 billion in cumulative trading over eight years. Yet Bity announced in October 2026 that it would not seek authorisation under Brazil's new crypto rules.

For customers, the important dates are still ahead. Bity has given account holders until 18 November 2026 to start an assisted migration to Mercado Bitcoin or Bipa. Trading and direct crypto withdrawals are scheduled to end on 25 November, before automatic conversion of remaining crypto into Brazilian reais begins on 27 November.

An exchange that once connected other exchanges

Bity began in 2018 as a cryptocurrency marketplace designed to help Brazilians find prices across several venues. It later expanded into other financial services under the Bity and Bitybank branding.

In its 9 October 2026 farewell letter, the company said its marketplace had generated over R$100 billion in lifetime trading. It also described the development of Cripto BRL, a real-pegged stablecoin, and early use of instant deposits following the launch of Pix.

These are company-reported historical totals. They do not mean that R$100 billion remained on the platform when the wind-down began, or that 850,000 users all had money awaiting withdrawal.

Exame reported on 2 October that Bity cited more than R$1 billion in assets under custody as the closure was announced. That is a reported company figure, not an independently verified count of assets still outstanding on 25 October.

The exit is notable because Bity's original business connected other trading venues. Its closing plan now relies partly on letting customers move to two other established Brazilian platforms.

Why Bity decided against a new licence

Brazil's Central Bank issued new rules in November 2025 for companies providing virtual-asset services. The regulator's announcement identifies Resolutions BCB 519, 520 and 521, covering authorisation, operations and certain foreign-exchange activities.

Resolution BCB 520 establishes operational requirements for virtual-asset service providers, including governance, controls, security and consumer obligations. Resolution 519 deals with authorisation procedures and transition arrangements for existing operators.

Bity said the new regime would require dedicated capital and internal resources to run its retail exchange. In its official closing FAQ, management explained that it preferred to concentrate investment on other lines of business instead of making that commitment.

The decision was voluntary, according to Bity. It did not claim the Central Bank had declared it insolvent, seized its customers' funds or ordered an emergency closure.

This was part of wider consolidation in Brazil. Folha reported in October 2026 that new authorisation and capital standards were encouraging exits and partnerships. The same environment influenced Coinext's brokerage shutdown, although the companies' financial positions and customer policies were not identical.

What customers need to know about November

Bity published a staggered schedule rather than one final shutdown date. All dates below use Brasília local time, and the operator says its deadlines run to 23:59 on the specified day.

These are Bity's announced deadlines as of 25 October 2026. The November events have not yet happened. The exchange says it will publish updates if the schedule changes.

A customer who initiates an eligible crypto withdrawal before the November 25 cutoff might receive blockchain confirmation afterward. The relevant request deadline and final network settlement can occur at different times.

Mercado Bitcoin and Bipa: how the assisted migration works

Bity offers an optional assisted migration to Mercado Bitcoin and Bipa. It says the route can transfer the available supported crypto and BRL balances after the customer consents to sharing account data and verification information.

The process is not a blanket transfer of every account without consent. A customer chooses a partner in the official Bity app, reviews the applicable terms and authorises the migration with in-app security checks. The receiving company also needs to approve the account.

For Mercado Bitcoin, Bity says it provides a one-time activation code for use inside the receiving app. The Bipa route does not require that separate code. Both are described as an integrated migration rather than copying wallet addresses for each coin.

The official FAQ says an assisted transfer can take up to two business days. Bity also says there is no transfer fee for that integrated route. A new exchange may nevertheless have its own ongoing trading or withdrawal charges.

Importantly, the assisted option normally takes all available supported balances, not an arbitrary percentage selected by the customer. Anyone wanting to retain part of the account elsewhere should arrange the sale or withdrawal before starting the integrated transfer.

Tokens a partner does not support can remain at Bity. Those holdings still need to be handled before the regular November 25 cutoff. A user should inspect the list of supported assets inside the app before approving a move.

Why OKX is not another automatic migration

Bity also lists OKX as an optional destination. But the operator says this is a referral arrangement, not an integrated account-and-asset migration.

A customer choosing OKX must create an account independently, pass that platform's onboarding checks and then request a standard cryptocurrency withdrawal from Bity. The same principle applies to sending funds to another exchange or a wallet under the user's control.

This matters for network compatibility. A coin can have several blockchain networks, and a destination may not support all of them. The sender must verify the correct address, network and any required memo before signing a transfer.

Bity says the integrated partner transfers are without transfer charges. For an ordinary external crypto withdrawal, standard network-dependent fees may still apply. The exact fee should be checked at the time of the request.

A different migration model appeared when DMM Bitcoin arranged the transfer of accounts and assets to SBI VC Trade. Bity instead gives each customer a choice among integrated partners, manual transfers or selling for reais.

What happens to coins left behind on November 27?

If a customer does not sell, withdraw or migrate cryptocurrency before the deadlines, Bity plans to convert remaining crypto into Brazilian reais starting 27 November 2026.

The conversion uses the prevailing market price when Bity executes each sale. The operator says transactions may be processed in batches, so customers cannot select a preferred future conversion time or lock in today's quoted price.

The resulting BRL balance is supposed to remain in the account. Bity says customers will be able to withdraw those funds by Pix without a fixed deadline. When the app is eventually retired, account support is intended to continue through manually verified service requests.

This does not mean customers are guaranteed to receive exactly the same market value shown in an earlier screenshot. Cryptocurrency prices can change between the last day for self-directed trading and the actual conversion.

Japan's LINE BITMAX closing plan also involved turning remaining crypto into a local-currency claim. The companies set their own conversion rules and final return channels, so one platform's deadlines cannot stand in for the other's.

What if Bity users want to keep their coins?

They can request a withdrawal to a compatible external wallet until the announced cutoff on November 25. No customer is required to transfer their assets to Mercado Bitcoin or Bipa.

A self-custody wallet offers direct control over private keys but also makes the owner responsible for safeguarding them. Sending crypto through the wrong network may be irreversible, even when the transfer itself is legitimate.

For someone who only wants to recover the value in fiat, Bity also permits selling existing crypto balances during the trading window and requesting a Pix withdrawal to a bank account in the same account holder's name.

The company instructs users not to transfer funds to third-party Pix accounts. It says identity verification, PIN and two-factor authentication checks should be completed only through its official app.

Bitybank's card shut earlier in September

The crypto card has its own timeline. Bitybank ended card services on 1 September 2026, including physical, virtual and mobile-wallet card transactions.

That earlier announcement explicitly told customers the exchange remained available for trading and withdrawals at the time. The September card closure should not be treated as the date Bity's brokerage stopped operating.

The later October brokerage notice was a separate business decision. The two events form part of Bity's broader changes in 2026, but each affected different services and dates.

Is Bity bankrupt, or will the company still exist?

Bity says this is an orderly exit from retail cryptocurrency brokerage, not a bankruptcy or liquidation. Its closing FAQ identifies CBTC Serviços Digitais Ltda. as the company that will remain responsible for outstanding balances, support and legal obligations.

The operator also states that customer assets are intact and available, with controls remaining in place during the transition. Those are Bity's assertions, not an independently audited payout report covering every individual account.

In the Knaken bankruptcy case, Dutch prosecutors asked a court to intervene over a documented shortfall. No equivalent bankruptcy order or customer deficit was identified in Bity's shutdown materials.

The brokerage service ending does not mean every corporate activity disappears at once. Customers should evaluate the actual withdrawal procedure and the continuing legal entity rather than infer insolvency solely from the decision to close an exchange.

What happens if a migration is rejected or interrupted?

Bity says receiving exchanges carry out their own verification. A migration request can fail if the partner declines the account or needs more information.

While an authorised migration is being processed, the affected assets are temporarily locked against other transactions. If the process does not complete, the company says the block is removed so the account holder can choose another route.

Bity instructs users to start early. Waiting until November 18 leaves little time for a rejected application, a documentation problem or an unsupported token that must be moved manually before November 25.

Customers should keep copies of their balances, deposits, trading histories, account statements and any transaction confirmations. These records may be useful for tax reporting or resolving a transfer that does not arrive as expected.

How to avoid fake migration messages

Bity says official notices appear on its shutdown information page, its app and verified support channels. During an exchange closure, impersonators may claim a faster migration or demand a fee to release a balance.

The company says it does not ask customers to disclose their login password, PIN, seed phrase or two-factor authentication codes through a phone call, direct message or outside link. In-app security checks should happen only inside the authentic application.

No one should assume a message is genuine because it uses Mercado Bitcoin, Bipa or Bity's name. A destination and account-transfer instruction should be verified through both official operators before authorising it.

The experiences of NovaDAX customers facing repeatedly revised withdrawal deadlines show why checking the latest original notice matters more than following an old social-media summary.

What Bity's closure means for Brazil's crypto market

Bity's exit is a reminder that an exchange can have a long operating history, a substantial customer base and strong historical turnover while deciding it no longer wants to run under a different regulatory cost structure.

The company has chosen to send willing customers toward other licensed or authorisation-seeking providers, while keeping a route for manual withdrawal and BRL refunds. It has not described the process as an emergency loss of custody.

For a broader view of what happened when trading platforms stopped operating, see the historical directory of closed cryptocurrency exchanges. For Bity itself, the final trading and conversion milestones remain future scheduled events as of this review.

Sources and review notes

• Bity, official closing timetable and FAQ — dates, migration instructions, identity checks, fees, compulsory conversion and continuing BRL withdrawals.
• Bity, 9 October 2026 farewell letter — historical figures, corporate strategy and closure explanation.
• Exame, 2 October 2026 — independent reporting of the closure and reported customer/custody figures.
• Central Bank of Brazil, virtual-asset regulatory announcement and Resolution BCB 520 — applicable licensing and operating framework.
• Folha, October 2026 — independent discussion of industry consolidation under the new regulations.
• Bitybank card discontinuation notice — evidence of the separate September card shutdown.

Information reviewed 25 October 2026. Company claims about customer balances and historical activity are attributed. November trading, migration and conversion deadlines are described as scheduled rather than completed, and no independent audit of a universal customer repayment has been asserted.