Itaú Unibanco Starts Crypto Trading and Custody Under Brazil Rules

Itaú Unibanco has notified Brazil’s central bank that it is conducting cryptocurrency trading and custody, becoming the first bank to take up both activities under the regulator’s new rules. The filing was submitted Tuesday, Oct. 27, three days before the Oct. 30 deadline.

The move puts Brazil’s largest bank at the front of the new framework’s rollout for banking services involving crypto. Its filing covers both trading and custody, the two activities named in the central bank’s rule. The bank made the submission ahead of the cutoff, giving the new requirements an early formal application by a major domestic lender.

The filing marks the first time a bank has formally begun both services under Brazil’s new requirements. Itaú’s move stands as an early example of a large traditional bank entering regulated crypto activity in Brazil. Oct. 30 is the deadline for the related filing, and Itaú submitted its notice three days ahead of it.