Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has ordered the immediate suspension of Brasil 22 Token, a website that offered cryptocurrency to users who posted and maintained content backing presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.

The case emerged after Lula’s re-election coalition complained that virtual assets were being distributed in exchange for political promotion. Justice Estela Aranha concluded that the arrangement offered an economic benefit during an election, according to reporting on the complaint and ruling.¹

The account detailed by the opposing campaign describes the initiative as more than spontaneous support: users could receive units of the $B22 token through an “airdrop” programme for promoting “vote 22,” the PL party’s ballot number. Lula’s coalition argued that the system amounted to indirect payment of voters and cited livestreams in which organizers allegedly acknowledged its electoral purpose.²

Aranha’s reasoning centered on the same distinction. Brazilian electoral rules bar paid online election advertising except for limited boosting arranged by parties, coalitions or candidates, and also prohibit rewards, competitions and financial advantages used to spread campaign material. She found that Brasil 22 Token went beyond ordinary political expression and created a structured economic incentive that could affect equality among candidates.²

Bolsonaro’s campaign, however, said it learned of the site through press reports and denied any involvement. It said it had not hired promoters, incurred campaign expenses or maintained financial ties with the token’s creators, calling the use of the candidate’s name, image and campaign number unauthorized.² A separate account said the campaign would pursue electoral, civil and criminal measures to take down the page.¹

The injunction blocks the domain and the offering, promise or distribution of B22 tokens, while requiring removal of specified posts on platforms including X, Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp. Providers and crypto exchanges were also ordered to identify those responsible and preserve access records under seal.²