How to choose a crypto advisor in Brazil: 8 criteria

Choosing a crypto advisor in Brazil is less about who promises more and more about who you can verify. Securities advisory is an activity regulated by the CVM, Brazil's securities regulator, which gives investors an objective starting point: either the firm is authorized or it is not. From there, eight criteria separate an advisor that serves your wealth from one that serves itself. This guide explains each one, how to check it in five minutes and how Vault Capital answers every point.

In short

• Start with what can be verified: CVM authorization, company registration, legal name and public documents. Without those, there is no second criterion.
• Then look at alignment: where the fee comes from, whether there are in-house or partner products, and where your assets stay.
• Finally, the service itself: in-house research, fixed income alongside crypto, a monitoring tool, human support and service outside Brazil.

The 8 criteria

The three criteria that eliminate

The first three are eliminatory. Without CVM authorization, the firm is operating outside the rules, and a good-looking name does not change that. Without public documents, you have no way to know who the responsible partners are or how conflicts of interest are handled. And if the fee comes from commissions, the recommendation has an owner: CVM Resolution 19/2021 requires the advisor to be paid by the client precisely so that the advice does not depend on the product sold.

A quick test for the third point: ask "do you earn anything if I open an account at exchange X or buy token Y?". The answer must be no, in writing.

The alignment criteria

Custody (criterion 4) is where the risk of total loss lives. The industry's history is full of platforms that took client money to "invest" and collapsed. A serious advisor does not need the assets to pass through it: they stay in your name, at your exchanges and wallets, and the only money flow between you and the advisor is the fee. The post crypto custody: self-custody vs third-party explains the storage options.

Research (criterion 5) separates advice from guesswork. Ask to see how a recommendation is built: which data, which method, which horizon. Whoever cannot show it does not have it.

The service criteria

Fixed income alongside crypto (criterion 6) looks like a detail and is not. Allocation is a decision about your entire wealth: how much goes into crypto depends on what sits outside crypto. An advisor that only looks at the volatile part leaves the most important decision with you, without method.

Monitoring (criterion 7) is what you will use every month. Ask how you will see the portfolio, how you will know it is time to rebalance and how crypto taxes will be computed. At Vault, that is an app: crypto and fixed income in real time, rebalancing alerts guided by the firm's model, positions, capital gains and crypto tax forms ready for filing, and an AI assistant that explains the numbers. Decisions are still discussed with the advisor.

Support (criterion 8) decides whether the advisory works on the hard question, which never comes during business hours. Ask who answers and where. If you live outside Brazil or plan to, ask whether there are clients in that situation.

Making the first conversation count

Bring the eight criteria and the verification questions. The first conversation is for you to evaluate the advisor, not only the other way around. The post is a crypto advisor worth it? lists the six questions for the first call and the CVM verification checklist.

At Vault, that conversation is a free, no-commitment diagnostic on WhatsApp with a human advisor. How the advisory works, step by step, is on crypto advisory: how it works.

Vault Capital does not guarantee returns. Crypto assets carry high risk, including significant volatility and the possibility of losing the invested capital. What advisory offers is method: deep research, demanding procedures and continuous follow-up.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether a crypto advisor is authorized by the CVM?

Look up the CNPJ or legal name on the CVM's official site (gov.br/cvm, participant search) and confirm the activity is securities advisory. Compare with the data published on the firm's site. If it does not match, do not proceed.

Is a crypto advisor that charges the client nothing trustworthy?

Be suspicious. If the client does not pay, someone else does, and that someone has a product to sell. The CVM rule requires the advisor to be paid by the client so that the recommendation stays independent.

What is the difference between a crypto advisor and a broker-tied investment agent?

In advisory (CVM Resolution 19/2021), the advisor is paid by the client and recommends; the client decides and keeps custody. In the broker-agent model (CVM Resolution 178/2023), the agent is tied to a broker, distributes its products and is paid by commission on what is sold.

Do I need a minimum portfolio to hire an advisor?

At Vault there is no published minimum. How well the service fits your wealth and goals is assessed in the free diagnostic conversation, and there is a specific fee model for smaller portfolios, presented in the proposal.

Let's talk

If you want to apply the eight criteria in a real conversation, Vault's diagnostic is free and carries no commitment, on WhatsApp, with a human advisor. Your assets always stay in your name.