Itaú Unibanco formally told Brazil’s central bank on Oct. 27 that it operates as a provider of virtual-asset services, three days before the deadline for licensed banks already active in crypto, Valor Econômico reported.
The notice covers two activities: buying and selling crypto for clients, and holding those assets in custody. Brazil’s rules group that pair under the broker category of crypto service providers, according to Valor.
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A notice, not a license application
Under Resolution BCB 520, the central bank’s rulebook for the sector, standalone crypto firms have to apply for permission to operate. Banks, brokers and other institutions the central bank already supervises follow a separate track. Those that were offering crypto when the rule took effect on Feb. 2, 2026, had 270 days to send the regulator a formal communication, a window that closes on Oct. 30. The rule requires that communication to arrive with the results of a technical certification, prepared by an independent firm, attesting that the institution meets the resolution’s requirements.
Filing does not close the matter. The central bank may request more information, and it can order an institution to wind down its crypto operations within 30 days of being notified, including when the communication was improperly prepared. A bank that misses the deadline can keep serving crypto clients for only 30 days after it passes.
Itaú’s crypto offering
Itaú has let customers buy and sell crypto since December 2023. It now offers more than 14 digital assets, among them bitcoin, ether and the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, and keeps them in custody for clients. The bank does not disclose how many customers use the service or how much they trade, Valor reported.
Guto Antunes, Itaú Unibanco’s superintendent of digital assets, said in Portuguese, in remarks carried by Valor, that the bank had put client security first from the outset. He said the bank believes the move lays firmer groundwork for digital assets in Brazil and globally, and that clear rules with high security and governance standards help the whole industry and, above all, consumers.
A second cutoff on Nov. 6
From Nov. 6, banks, payment institutions and other central bank-licensed firms may not carry out or facilitate crypto transactions whose counterparty is a virtual-asset service provider without authorization to operate in Brazil, except in ways the resolution expressly allows. That ban was first set to begin on Oct. 30. Resolution BCB 589, dated Sept. 23, moved it back a week.
The Oct. 30 date is also the cutoff for standalone crypto platforms to apply for authorization. Unchained reported on Tuesday that Binance had shut Brazilian users out of new loans and margin trading ahead of it.
Related Listen: Crypto’s Clarity Act Collapses. Two Days Later, the SEC Introduces Its Innovation Exemption
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