Itaú formalizes crypto trading, offering 15 assets including Bitcoin and Ethereum

Brazil’s crypto market is moving into a more formal banking phase as Itaú Unibanco, the country’s largest private bank, registers its role with the Central Bank of Brazil. Brazil has been building a licensing structure for crypto activity, and the timing places Itaú inside that framework as the window narrows. That makes the bank part of the same regulatory setting that will shape how licensed crypto services are offered in the country.

For people who use crypto in Brazil, a large bank offering trading services means access can shift from standalone platforms toward a mainstream financial institution. The bank’s 15-asset menu, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, gives customers a regulated route into trading without relying only on specialist exchanges. Builders and service providers in Brazil now have to compete in a market where a major bank can package crypto alongside traditional banking products.

A move by Itaú also shows how national licensing rules can pull banks and crypto businesses into the same supervisory perimeter. That creates a trade-off between broader access through familiar institutions and the concentration of crypto activity inside large financial firms. The question is not whether crypto can exist in Brazil, but how much of it will be mediated by banks rather than by independent exchanges and wallets.

Still open is how Brazil’s Central Bank will treat other banks and crypto providers as the licensing process continues. The filings and approvals that follow will show whether Itaú is an early exception or the first of several large institutions to enter the market under the new rule set. What remains unresolved is how much competition, product variety, and compliance burden this framework will create across Brazil’s crypto sector.