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Itaú tells Brazil's central bank it operates as crypto provider
The country's largest bank filed a formal communication covering crypto trading and custody three days before the Oct. 30 deadline for incumbent lenders.
Key takeaways
- Deadline pressure. Itaú filed on Oct. 27, three days before the Oct. 30 cutoff for institutions that were already offering crypto when the rule took effect.
- Two-track regime. Banks and other supervised institutions send a formal communication, while standalone crypto firms must apply for permission to operate.
- Next milestone. From Nov. 6, licensed banks and payment firms face limits on transacting with crypto providers that lack authorisation in Brazil.
What happened
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 set for licensed banks that were already active in crypto, Valor Econômico reported. The filing was taken up by Unchained and Bitcoin.com News, which both covered the bank's move alongside Binance's separate licence request.
The notice covers two activities: buying and selling crypto on behalf of clients, and holding those assets in custody. Under Brazil's framework, that combination places the bank in the broker category of crypto service providers.
Resolution BCB 520, the central bank's rulebook for the sector, splits the market into two tracks. Standalone crypto firms have to apply for permission to operate, while banks, brokers and other institutions the central bank already supervises send a formal communication instead. Institutions that were offering crypto when the rule took effect on Feb. 2, 2026 had 270 days to file, a window that closes on Oct. 30. The communication must 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 where the communication was improperly prepared. A bank that misses the deadline can keep serving crypto clients for only 30 days after it passes.
Why it matters
Itaú is Brazil's largest financial institution, so its decision to formalise crypto activity under the central bank's rules gives the regime its most prominent test case among incumbent lenders. The route it took, a communication rather than an application, is the path other large banks are expected to follow before the window shuts, since institutions already supervised by the central bank are treated separately from standalone crypto firms.
The filing also lands ahead of a wider restriction. 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 authorisation to operate in Brazil, except in ways the resolution expressly allows. That makes the licensing status of platforms a practical question for banks, not only a compliance formality.
What the data shows
The 270-day window runs from Feb. 2, 2026 and closes on Oct. 30, which is also the cutoff for standalone crypto platforms to seek authorisation. Resolution BCB 589, dated Sept. 23, moved the counterparty ban from Oct. 30 to Nov. 6. By Sept. 19 only four crypto firms had applied to keep operating, according to Bitcoin.com News, which reported that capital, auditing, anti-money-laundering and reporting requirements had driven several providers out of the market. Itaú does not disclose how many customers use its crypto service or how much they trade, Valor reported.
Background
Itaú has let customers buy and sell crypto since December 2023 and now offers more than 14 digital assets, among them bitcoin, ether and the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, which it also keeps in custody for clients. Guto Antunes, the bank's superintendent of digital assets, said in remarks carried by Valor that client security had come first from the outset, and that an environment with clear rules and high security and governance standards benefits the whole industry and consumers in particular.
Binance also formalised its position, applying on Oct. 23 through BBrasil Sociedade Prestadora de Serviços de Ativos Virtuais, a company established in Brazil for the purpose. Thiago Sarandy, Binance's general director in Brazil, described the request as a decisive step for its local operations and said the exchange hopes dialogue with the central bank will allow it to bring back products it discontinued to meet current rules. Unchained reported that Binance had shut Brazilian users out of new loans and margin trading ahead of the deadline.
What to watch
Attention now turns to whether the central bank asks Itaú for additional information or finds the communication deficient, and to how the Nov. 6 counterparty rule is enforced, since it will shape how licensed banks interact with crypto platforms. Also worth watching is how many other incumbent banks file before Oct. 30, and whether Binance obtains approval to restore the products it withdrew.
Questions readers ask
What did Itaú actually send to the central bank?
A formal communication stating that it operates as a virtual-asset service provider, covering the buying and selling of crypto for clients and custody of those assets, which Brazil's rules group under the broker category.
Does the filing mean Itaú is now licensed?
No. The communication opens a review. The central bank can request further information and can order an institution to wind down its crypto operations within 30 days of being notified, including when the filing was improperly prepared.
What happens to banks that miss the Oct. 30 deadline?
They can continue serving crypto clients for only 30 days after the deadline passes.
