Lemon Exits Brazil, Citing High Central Bank Capital Requirements

Lemon's exit suggests Brazil's licensing regime is now a scale filter: the capital threshold that a regional player finds disproportionate may be manageable for better-capitalised incumbents, quietly consolidating the market around fewer, larger exchanges. The wind-down mechanics — a card deadline ahead of automatic account closures — point to an orderly retreat rather than a distress exit, which matters for how Brazilian users read the news. Whether other mid-sized exchanges follow, and whether the central bank's requirements are revisited, is the open question.