According to Reuters, Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco has launched a crypto trading service for its clients as part of its investment platform.
According to digital asset head Guto Antunes, Itau, the largest bank in Brazil by assets and one of the foremost lenders in Latin America, is launching cryptocurrency trading with Bitcoin and Ether. He noted that the bank intends to incorporate additional cryptocurrencies for trading in the future.
As the cryptocurrency custodian for the crypto trading service, Itau Bank will be responsible for storing crypto assets on behalf of its clients. According to Antunes, Itau customers will only be able to deposit or withdraw cryptocurrency with external crypto wallets after some time. His statement read:
“The most important thing is that when you keep your money in the bank account, you will have the guarantee of Itau’s balance sheet as security for the amounts invested.”
Itau Unibanco, BTG Pactual, and Santander Brasil, among the largest lenders in Brazil, are reportedly increasing staffing levels and allocating additional resources in anticipation of the nationwide introduction of the Drex, a digital Brazilian Real.
Itau purportedly introduced digital asset custody earlier this year, and 85 percent of its clients were interested in keeping their cryptocurrencies with the bank, according to Antunes.
Approximately one month has passed since two regional participants declared their intention to exit the cryptocurrency industry. Reuters reports that XP Investimentos, a brokerage and investment firm, recently terminated its cryptocurrency services without explaining.
Conglomerate J&F, which also controls meatpacker JBS, reportedly cited regulatory uncertainties for the cessation of crypto operations at financial services firm PicPay.
