Brazil's financial landscape witnessed a radical change when Itaú Unibanco, the country's largest private bank, announced on Monday its foray into the world of cryptocurrency trading, introducing a service that allows its clients to buy and sell bitcoin and Ether through its ion investment platform.
Itaú, which marks a significant step for a traditional banking institution, follows newer financial entities such as Nubank and BTG Pactual, which have integrated these types of offers for their clients.
Initially, Itaú clients will have access to trading bitcoin and ether, the main cryptocurrency of the ethereum network. However, the rollout of this service will be gradual and selective access will be granted to registered ion customers, depending on regulatory clarity.
Guto Antunes, director of Itaú Digital Assets, emphasized the bank's cautious approach, highlighting that the custody of bitcoin traded on ion would be managed by Itaú, guaranteeing the segregation of assets but retaining access to the wallets' private keys by the platform users.
In particular, he clarified that for the initial phase, external bitcoin deposits in Itaú accounts or withdrawals to clients' personal digital wallets will not be available.
Instead, the bank promises the security of its balance sheet to safeguard invested amounts, comparing it to the security customers experience when their money remains in a traditional bank account.
Furthermore, Antunes shed light on Itaú's focus on attracting new clients by offering opportunities in bitcoin. “We are in a generation that grows and uses banking in a tokenized way,” he said.
Although the move is a significant step, it shows how traditional banks still equate bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, and the bank here gives no indication of the scrutiny that centralized cryptocurrencies undergo in the US and other jurisdictions.
