Itaú Notifies Brazil’s Central Bank of Crypto Services Ahead of Compliance Deadline
Key Facts
Itaú Unibanco notified Brazil’s central bank of its crypto-asset brokerage and custody activities, a regulatory step ahead of the deadline for eligible institutions already providing these services to notify the regulator. CoinDesk reported that Itaú is the first bank in Brazil to notify the central bank under the new rules. The move does not involve the launch of a new platform; the bank’s service has been running since December 2023. Itaú combines asset trading and custody, placing its activity in the virtual-asset brokerage category defined by the rules. The notification comes as the deadline for eligible financial institutions already operating in the sector approaches.
Itaú’s service currently offers 15 crypto assets, including Bitcoin, Ether and USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin. The bank began offering the service in December 2023, before the new rules took effect in February 2026. The bank’s app lets customers buy and sell crypto assets, and the currencies they buy or deposit remain in Itaú’s custody. Transactions start at 10 Brazilian reais, according to the fee schedule published on the bank’s website. Itaú announced in December 2023 that trading in Bitcoin and Ether had begun through its íon platform, with the assets held in custody by the bank itself. It then opened trading to all íon users in June 2024, saying more than 90% of customers described the experience as good or very good in internal surveys.
Itaú has not disclosed the number of customers using the service or its trading volumes, so no published figures are available to measure its scale. The central bank’s notification requirement is part of a regulatory path separate from the one imposed on specialized virtual-asset firms. Banks already licensed by the central bank can notify the regulator that they are providing crypto services. Specialized virtual-asset service providers, by contrast, must apply for an operating license. The rules classify Itaú’s activity as brokerage because it combines trading and custody, while notifying the central bank does not amount to a new operating license.
Brazilian regulatory resolution No. 520 took effect on 2 February 2026. It gave eligible financial institutions already providing crypto services 270 days to notify the central bank, with the application required to include an independent technical certificate confirming compliance with the requirements. Itaú’s notification deadline falls under this framework for existing institutions, rather than a process for launching a new service. According to CoinDesk, institutions that miss the deadline must stop providing crypto-asset services within 30 days. The regulation aims, according to the central bank’s deputy governor for regulation, to provide greater confidence and protection for users of these assets by bringing service providers under supervision and licensing.
A ban is scheduled to take effect on 6 November 2026, preventing financial institutions, payment institutions and other entities subject to central bank licensing from dealing with unauthorized virtual-asset service providers. Resolution 589, issued on 23 September, amended the start date of the ban to the new date. This date falls after the notification deadline for financial institutions already operating in the sector, putting compliance and access to services through authorized providers at the forefront of the next regulatory phase. Itaú’s notified activity is based on a service that has operated since December 2023 and offers 15 crypto assets. The bank did not disclose customer or trading-volume figures when it notified the regulator.