Itaú Unibanco, the premier private bank in Brazil, officially registered its digital asset trading and safekeeping services under the nation’s updated cryptocurrency framework, establishing itself as the initial financial institution in the country to complete the process.
As reported by local publication Valor Econômico, the financial institution filed its formal notice with the central bank on Tuesday, beating the upcoming October 30 compliance cutoff.
Under this regulatory system, financial institutions that possess prior central bank authorization may use a streamlined notification procedure to provide crypto offerings. On the other hand, standalone virtual asset service providers (VASPs) are required to seek formal operating licenses.
Based on information from its official portal, Itaú Unibanco currently supports 15 digital assets, featuring bitcoin BTC, ether ETH, and the USD-backed stablecoin USDC. The bank has kept its user adoption figures and transaction volumes private for the offering, which launched back in December 2023.
The dual offering of trading and custody by Itaú aligns directly with the brokerage classification defined in the guidelines.
Central Bank Resolution 520 became active on February 2, granting qualifying financial entities already engaged in the digital asset space a 270-day window to inform the governing body. Filings must incorporate an independent technical assessment verifying compliance with all standards. Entities failing to meet the target must halt all digital asset offerings within a 30-day period.
This identical deadline pertains to licensing submissions from dedicated digital asset firms that were already functioning when the policies went live. Domestic exchange Mercado Bitcoin has indicated that it is actively pursuing authorization to function as a virtual asset broker.
Back in September, the central bank postponed the implementation date to November 6, which prevents banks and other licensed entities from engaging in cryptocurrency transactions with unapproved service providers.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/10/28/brazil-s-largest-lender-becomes-first-bank-to-formalize-crypto-brokerage-under-new-rules.
