Itaú Unibanco Formalizes Crypto Brokerage and Custody With Brazil’s Central Bank

Itaú Unibanco, Brazil’s largest private lender, has formally registered its cryptocurrency brokerage and custody operations with the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), the country’s central bank, bringing the country’s biggest bank into formal compliance with the virtual-asset rules that took effect at the start of October. The bank said in an official notice dated Oct. 27 that the filing covers the intermediation and custody of cryptoassets, activities the regulation treats as equivalent to the “corretora,” or broker, category. The step does not introduce a new product. Itaú has offered the purchase and sale of cryptoassets since December 2023.