Itaú Unibanco Becomes First Brazilian Bank to Formalize Crypto Brokerage with Central Bank
Key Takeaways
- •Itaú Unibanco has become the first Brazilian bank to formally register its crypto brokerage activities with the central bank under the country's virtual-asset framework.
- •The bank has offered crypto trading since December 2023 and currently supports 15 digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and XRP.
- •The regulatory framework establishes two compliance tracks: banks already authorized by the central bank may simply notify it of their crypto services, while dedicated virtual-asset service providers must apply for full operating authorization.
- •Under Resolution 520, which took effect in February 2026, firms that miss the October 30, 2026 compliance deadline must stop providing crypto services within 30 days.
- •After November 6, 2026, banks and other authorized institutions are prohibited from conducting crypto business with providers that remain unregistered.
Itaú Unibanco, Brazil's largest private bank, has formalized its crypto brokerage operations with the country's central bank, becoming the first bank to do so under the regulator's virtual-asset framework. Brazilian financial newspaper Valor Econômico reported the registration.
The move comes ahead of an October 30, 2026 deadline for existing crypto businesses to comply with the new rules. Under the framework, banks already authorized by the central bank may notify the regulator of their crypto services, while dedicated virtual-asset service providers must apply for operating authorization. The split creates two distinct compliance tracks — a lighter notification route for incumbent lenders and a full authorization process for crypto-native firms — within a single national regime for virtual assets.
Itaú, headquartered in São Paulo and among the largest banks in Latin America, has offered crypto trading since December 2023, and the formalized registration now places that existing operation squarely within the central bank's supervised perimeter. Its offering currently spans 15 digital assets:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ether (ETH)
- Solana (SOL)
- XRP
- USDC
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Aave (AAVE)
- Avalanche (AVAX)
- Polygon (POL)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Uniswap (UNI)
- Optimism (OP)
- Arbitrum (ARB)
- Pax Gold (PAXG)
The central bank's Resolution 520, which took effect in February 2026, requires eligible institutions to submit independent technical certification demonstrating compliance with the framework. Firms that miss the deadline must stop providing crypto services within 30 days, making the certification requirement a hard gate rather than a paperwork exercise.
Separately, banks and other authorized institutions are barred from conducting crypto business with unauthorized providers after November 6, 2026 — a cutoff that, one week after the compliance deadline, extends the regime's reach beyond registered firms to their banking counterparties. With Itaú's registration in place, the remaining milestones are those two dates, which convert the framework's requirements into concrete operating consequences for any provider still outside the rules.
Source: BitcoinKE
