Largest Brazilian Bank Expands Crypto Services to All Users

The biggest bank in Latin America, Itaú Unibanco, has expanded its cryptocurrency trading offerings on its investing platform, Íon. Currently, all it takes to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) is to download the Íon app.

Guto Antunes, the director of Itaú Digital Assets, provided an explanation of the bank’s decision in a recent interview with the Brazilian publication Valor Econômico. A preliminary client group’s weekly polls revealed a high level of demand for cryptocurrency items. Itaú decided to widen access based in large part on this input.

Antunes highlighted Itaú’s commitment to security by choosing to develop the crypto wallet security internally. “We have a participation and partnership with Liqi, but nothing regarding custody. The entire custody solution was designed and implemented within Itaú with our fiduciary duty in mind,” he stated.

User Engagement and Future Plans

While the exact number of Íon users remains undisclosed, the app has been downloaded over 3.5 million times on Android and iOS. Antunes described this figure as “significant for the crypto space and surprising,” underscoring the growing interest in digital assets among Itaú’s clientele.

Despite the enthusiastic response, the current offering is limited to BTC and ETH. However, clients are requesting additional tokens. Antunes mentioned that these requests are being considered, pending a thorough regulatory risk assessment. On the topic of stablecoins, Antunes noted that Itaú is awaiting clear regulations from Brazil’s central bank, without providing a specific timeline.

Itaú Unibanco first ventured into the crypto market in late 2023, initially offering services to a select group of customers. With this broader rollout, the bank aims to compete with local entities like MB and BTG Pactual’s Mynt, as well as global players like Binance in the Brazilian market.

Itaú’s strategic expansion into the crypto space marks a significant milestone for the bank and its users. By integrating BTC and ETH trading into the Íon app, Itaú is positioning itself as a key player in the evolving digital finance landscape.