Itaú becomes first Brazilian bank to file crypto brokerage notice before Oct. 30 deadline
Itaú Unibanco has become the first bank in Brazil to formalise cryptocurrency trading and custody under the country's new digital-asset rules, filing its notification with the central bank on Tuesday, ahead of an Oct. 30 compliance deadline.
The distinction matters because the framework splits the market in two. Banks already authorised by the central bank can offer crypto services through a notification process, while dedicated virtual-asset service providers must apply for operating authorisation. Itaú's combination of trading and custody places it in the brokerage category under the rules, and the lender lists 15 cryptoassets including bitcoin, ether and the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC. It has not disclosed customer numbers or trading volumes for the service, which began in December 2023.
Resolution 520 took effect on 2 February and gave eligible financial institutions already active in crypto 270 days to notify the regulator. Submissions must carry an independent technical certification showing the institution meets its requirements, and those that miss the deadline must stop providing crypto services within 30 days. The same deadline applies to authorisation applications from dedicated crypto providers already operating when the rules took effect; Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin has said it is seeking authorisation as a virtual-asset brokerage.
The central bank has already adjusted one edge of the timetable, pushing to 6 November the date from which banks and other authorised institutions are barred from doing crypto business with unauthorised providers. For Brazil's banks, the message is that crypto is now a licensed line of business with a certification attached, not a side project.
For the wider market, Itaú's filing sets a template: incumbents notify, specialists apply, and the October deadline sorts the two. Whether other large lenders follow before then will show how far Brazil's biggest institutions intend to take digital assets beyond a pilot.
