Itaú Becomes First Brazilian Bank to Formalize Crypto Trading Before October 30

Itaú Files With the Central Bank

Itaú Unibanco, Brazil's largest private bank, has become the first lender in the country to formalize its cryptocurrency trading and custody business under the central bank's new digital asset framework. The bank submitted its notification on Tuesday, October 27, three days ahead of the October 30 compliance deadline that closes a transition window for institutions already active in crypto. The filing places the lender's existing services inside the virtual asset brokerage category the regulator created for institutions that combine trading with custody, according to Valor Econômico. Itaú's investment platform gives customers access to 15 digital assets, among them Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and the USDC stablecoin. The service launched in December 2023 on the bank's Íon platform and opened to all platform users in June 2024, an expansion Guto Antunes, head of Itaú Digital Assets, tied at the time to customer surveys showing considerable interest in cryptocurrency investments. Despite nearly three years of operation, the bank has never published customer numbers or transaction volumes for the service. The legal basis is Resolution 520, which took effect on February 2, 2026 and gave institutions already authorized by the central bank 270 days, through October 30, to notify the regulator. Each notification must carry an independent technical certification confirming compliance with the regulator's operational and security standards for virtual asset services. Because Itaú is already licensed and supervised by the central bank, it followed the notification procedure rather than seeking the separate operating authorization required of dedicated crypto businesses. Institutions that miss the deadline must discontinue their cryptocurrency services within 30 days. Central bank filings reviewed by the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo showed that the country's banks held no cryptocurrencies on their own balance sheets as of March 2026, even as they brokered them for customers.

Exchanges Face a Harder Authorization Path

Outside the banking channel, the same date governs authorization applications from providers that were operating when the framework took effect on February 2. Dedicated crypto exchanges and other virtual asset service providers must secure formal operating authorization rather than file a simple notification. That heavier bar has already filtered the field: a recent review of licensing requirements found that fewer than 10% of cryptocurrency companies were expected to pursue authorization, with smaller businesses pointing to compliance costs and capital requirements. Several firms have reconsidered their Brazilian operations as a result. Binance submitted its licensing application ahead of the cutoff, and Mercado Bitcoin, one of the country's largest domestic exchanges, has said it is seeking approval to operate as a virtual asset brokerage. The central bank has also moved the regime's outer edge. In September, Resolution 589 pushed the start of restrictions on dealings with unauthorized providers from October 30 to November 6. From that date, banks, payment institutions and other supervised entities are generally barred from conducting cryptocurrency transactions with providers that hold neither authorization nor an applicable exception. Additional reporting duties follow on January 1, 2027, covering customer asset balances, custody holdings and proof of reserves for businesses operating during the transition. Since October 1, Resolution 588 has required institutions to report transfers worth at least $10,000 to or from a self-custody wallet address to Coaf, the country's financial intelligence authority. The competitive backdrop among banks is shifting too: Nubank provides access to 28 digital assets, Banco do Brasil added Bitcoin and Ethereum trading earlier this year, and Itaú joined an ANBIMA tokenization pilot in August covering the issuance, trading and settlement of tokenized bonds and investment funds.

First Reserve Reports Due January 2027

The two-track design gives licensed banks a fast lane into crypto while dedicated platforms carry the full authorization burden, and the projection that fewer than 10% of crypto companies would apply suggests the authorization route will thin the field of smaller providers before the November 6 cutoff. The more consequential date may be January 1, 2027, when customer balances, custody holdings and proof of reserves start flowing to the regulator under procedures still to be issued. That reporting will give Brazil its first standardized picture of who holds what, closing a disclosure gap that has so far allowed Itaú to run a three-year-old service without publishing volumes. Banks will compete on distribution and trust rather than on the advanced order types offered by dedicated venues, which keeps the sophisticated end of the trading market with the platforms that clear authorization.