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

Brazil’s new crypto framework gives the Central Bank of Brazil a clearer role in overseeing service providers, and Itaú Unibanco is now operating within that system. Itaú is not a niche player: it is the largest private bank in Brazil, and its move lands at a moment when licensing rules are being put into place. That makes the bank’s crypto business part of the formal financial perimeter rather than a separate side offering.

For customers, the practical change is that a mainstream bank is now offering crypto trading through a regulated channel in Brazil. Itaú’s 15-asset lineup, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, shows that access is moving from specialist venues into a familiar banking environment. Builders and service providers in Brazil now have to fit their products and compliance processes around a system that is being absorbed into bank supervision.

Brazil is testing how far it wants crypto activity to sit inside the banking system while still being supervised as a distinct market. Itaú’s presence inside that structure raises the stakes for competitors that built earlier offerings outside a large bank platform. The trade-off is straightforward: broader access through a major bank can come with tighter oversight and fewer open-ended features than crypto users may expect.