Itaú Unibanco, Brazil's largest bank by assets, has made a significant leap into digital assets. The banking giant recently technology/brazilian-lender-itau-launches-crypto-trading-2023-12-04/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>Announced the launch of a bitcoin and ethereum trading service, marking a fundamental step in the integration of cryptocurrencies within the main financial services in Latin America.
bitcoin and ethereum Trading: Itaú Unibanco's crypto Foray
Itaú Unibanco's foray into the cryptocurrency market is a notable development, especially considering the bank's importance in the region. According to a Reuters report, this move by Itaú is part of an expansion of its investment platform to include trading in prominent cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum.
Guto Antunes, head of digital assets at Itaú, highlighted the bank's strategic approach to cryptocurrency trading, starting with bitcoin and ethereum, with plans to diversify its cryptocurrency offerings in the future. The head of digital assets at Itaú noted:
It starts with bitcoin, but our overall strategic plan is to expand to other crypto assets in the future.
Antunes further revealed that any expansion of its crypto services would be contingent on the progression of cryptocurrency regulations in Brazil.
Brazil's regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies
In June, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva took a critical step to establish a clearer regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. President Silva authorized the country's central bank to supervise and decide which entities can operate in the cryptocurrency market.
Following this development, in September, the governor of Brazil's central bank, Roberto Campos Neto, expressed his intention to implement stricter regulations on cryptocurrencies. Speaking at a congressional hearing on Finance and Taxes, Campos Neto emphasized the need for rigorous supervision of virtual asset brokerages.
This push to improve regulatory oversight coincided with a surge in cryptocurrency adoption in the country. June saw significant crypto participation in Brazil, with more than 3.2 million people and approximately 89,000 companies actively involved in cryptocurrency transactions.
Notably, Itaú Unibanco's entry into the cryptocurrency trading space comes amid the current bull run in the global cryptocurrency market. Notably, the timing of this launch appears to align with the current upward trajectory seen in select cryptocurrencies.
bitcoin, for example, has recently surpassed the $42,000 mark, showing a solid bullish trend. Although there has been a slight retraction in its price, bitcoin is still trading at around $41,633, showing an increase of 5%.
Similarly, ethereum has reflected this positive momentum, trading above $2,200, with its price currently at $2,225. The global crypto market capitalization has also seen a notable increase, surpassing $1.6 trillion and growing by 3.3%.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
