What does it look like when a country's biggest bank decides crypto is just normal banking now? In Brazil, it looks like this: Itaú Unibanco became the first bank to put its crypto trading and custody business under the central bank's new rules, filing on Tuesday ahead of an Oct. 30 deadline that splits the market into approved firms and everyone else.
Key points:
- Itaú is the first bank to file the notice, beating an Oct. 30 cutoff that leaves late firms 30 days to stop.
- The bank already sells 15 coins, including bitcoin, ether and USDC, through a service it started back in December 2023.
- From Nov. 6, banks in Brazil will not be allowed to do crypto business with firms that never got approved.
The filing was reported by Valor Econômico, a Brazilian business paper. Under the new setup, banks that already hold central bank approval only have to send a notice, while firms built just for crypto have to win full approval first. Itaú's mix of trading and holding coins for customers puts it in the brokerage group under the rules.
My own read is simple: this is the day Brazil's crypto market stopped being an exchange-only game. When the country's biggest bank files first, the rest of the banking pack will not want to be seen dragging its feet. Watch for the next big bank name within days, not months.
Read also: Brazilian Companies Piled Into USDT on Election Day — What's Next?
Why should traders outside Brazil care?
Brazil wrote these rules into Resolution 520, which took effect on Feb. 2 and gave firms already working in crypto 270 days to get their papers in. Each filing has to carry an independent technical check showing the firm meets the bar. Mercado Bitcoin, one of Brazil's best-known exchanges, has already said it is seeking approval as a brokerage too. The bank has not said how many customers use its crypto service or how much they trade, so nobody outside the bank knows how big its crypto business really is.
The date that counts now is Nov. 6. From that day, banks and other approved firms are barred from crypto dealings with firms that never got the nod. Firms that missed the Oct. 30 date face a 30-day wind-down instead. In plain terms: Brazil's crypto door is still open, but from next week it only opens for firms on the approved list.
Read also: Anchorage Puts Bitso's Peso Stablecoin Under Bank Custody — What's Next?
— BitByLine News Desk
Just to be clear, this is a news story, not financial advice. BitByLine is not telling you to buy or sell anything here — whether you do is your own call, and any loss or gain lands on you, so check things out for yourself first.
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Sources: CoinDesk, Valor Econômico