Itaú formalizes crypto services with Central Bank filing

Itaú Unibanco notified Brazil’s Central Bank on October 27 that it is providing cryptocurrency trading and custody services, formalizing an existing business under the country’s new digital-asset rules. The filing came ahead of an October 30 deadline for financial institutions already offering such services. Itaú is the first Brazilian bank reported to have completed the notification process. The notification covers trading and custody, activities classified under the rules as virtual-asset brokerage. The process available to banks already authorized by the Central Bank differs from the operating authorization required of dedicated virtual-asset providers. Itaú used the notification route because it is already a supervised financial institution; its filing does not constitute a new crypto license or the launch of a new service. The bank has offered cryptocurrency trading since December 2023. Its platform currently lists 15 digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDC. The service is available through Itaú’s investment platform, and the bank also holds customer assets in custody. Itaú has not disclosed how many customers use the service or the value of transactions...