Brazil’s Itau Unibanco Rolls Out Cryptocurrency Trading for Customers
Itau Unibanco, Brazil’s largest private bank, has initiated cryptocurrency trading services for its customers.
The service, initially accessible through the financial trading platform Ion, will first offer trading for bitcoin and ether. Itau, with over $400 billion in assets, plans to gradually extend this feature to all customers. The move precedes regulatory clarity from the Central Bank of Brazil regarding cryptocurrency regulation following the approval of Brazil’s cryptocurrency law in 2022. Guto Antunes, head of Itau Digital Assets, noted that the selection of bitcoin and ether resulted from customer preferences.
The bank will act as the custodian for the crypto assets, ensuring the security of customers’ investments. Initially, external deposits or withdrawals to external wallets will not be permitted. Antunes hinted at the potential addition of more tokens to the platform in the future, acknowledging the growing trend of the current generation using “banking in a tokenized way.” Itau had previously indicated its intention to enter the crypto trading space and already offers tokenization and custody services.
Clever Robot News Desk 7th December 2023
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