# Itaú Notifies Brazil Central Bank of Crypto Intermediation and Custody

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/42540
Published: 2026-10-28T11:31:04.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-28T11:31:04.000Z
Section: Regulation

> The bank’s crypto service began in 2023. A separate authorization deadline for crypto providers is Oct. 30.

Itaú Unibanco notified Banco Central do Brasil on Oct. 27 that it provides crypto intermediation and custody, under rules that establish separate paths for banks and crypto providers.

The reported notice concerns services the bank already offered, rather than a new product launch. When the service debuted on Dec. 4, 2023, clients could trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), which the bank held in custody. Its current investment page lists 15 crypto assets, including Solana (SOL). At the service's launch, Guto Antunes, then head of Itaú Digital Assets, described the bank's custody as “structured with a focus on customer security” and “a key element.”

Resolution BCB 520 took effect Feb. 2, 2026, and allows specified financial institutions, including banks, to provide virtual-asset intermediation and custody. Institutions already active in crypto had 270 days to notify the central bank and submit independent technical certification. The rules also require the communication date and intended service categories to be recorded in Unicad, BCB's system for information about entities of interest to the regulator.

Dedicated virtual-asset service providers follow a separate authorization process. The Oct. 30 deadline applies to the first phase of authorization applications from providers that were already operating when the rules took effect. That deadline concerns provider applications, while eligible banks use the notification route.

Itaú ranked first among Brazilian banks by total assets in 2025, with R$2.742 trillion, equal to 15% of the listed banking sector's total.

Starting Nov. 6, Brazilian rules bar financial institutions from facilitating virtual-asset activity involving providers without local authorization, subject to exceptions. A Sept. 23 amendment moved the restriction's effective date from Oct. 30 to Nov. 6.