Brazil’s largest bank offers Bitcoin and Ethereum services to all its clients

Itaú Unibanco, one of Latin America’s largest banks and Brazil’s leading private bank, has decided to expand its Bitcoin and Ethereum services to all clients. This decision follows positive feedback from weekly surveys conducted among its cryptocurrency users.

Itaú Unibanco was established in 2008 from the merger of Itaú and Unibanco. With over 60 million clients, the company gradually began incorporating crypto services through its Ion investment platform, initially targeting select users. Surveys showed that over 90% of these users rated their experience as good or excellent.

The bank found that surveyed clients have strong confidence in its custody services. It’s noteworthy that the company didn’t hire a third party to ensure clients’ wallet security; instead, it chose to develop its own tool. For this, Itaú received support from Liqi, a Brazilian fintech specializing in asset tokenization.

Guto Antunes, Itaú’s Digital Assets head, commented to a local newspaper:

“We have a partnership with Liqi, but it doesn’t involve custody. The entire custody solution was developed with architecture and fiduciary responsibility within Itaú.

We’re thrilled with the crypto journey we’re creating for our clients. Opening trading to all Ion users showcases our product’s evolution but also mirrors the market’s evolution.

Our team remains aligned with the central bank in regulatory development; we want to grow responsibly”.

Antunes also noted that training managers to advise users on virtual assets was a genuine challenge for his team.

“To address this, we introduced a network-first solution—an AI chatbot—that experts and managers can use to address key customer queries”.

All Itaú Unibanco clients will be able to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum with a 10 reais minimum, roughly equivalent to 1.87 US dollars. While currently limited to BTC and ETH, the bank is open to potentially adding other cryptocurrencies.

The Itaú app is currently functional only for company users. However, the Brazilian entity is committed to soon allowing all clients to download it and navigate its basic features without needing any subscription.

Brazil Central Bank Advances in Crypto Regulation Framework

In Latin America, Brazil is leading the way in digital currency advancements while also preparing clear regulations for the crypto realm. In late May, the central bank announced plans to establish a regulatory framework, outlining key guidelines for service providers… A public consultation is scheduled for the second half of the year.

Check out this post: Latin America’s Crypto Awakening: Navigating Challenges, Seizing Opportunities.

Subscribe to the Purse.io Newsletter to stay updated on our content and exciting crypto events. Also, follow us on social media for updates on Hamza.biz—a groundbreaking marketplace designed to revolutionize the e-commerce industry with low gas fees, trading freedom, and many cryptocurrencies. Click here to explore the roadmap we’ve developed for Hamza.

Further news:

• Zimbabwe seeks input to develop a crypto regulatory framework.
• South Korean Agency Suggests Crypto Tax Could Be Postponed or Abolished.
• Deutsche Bank and Bitpanda Forge New Deal to Streamline Crypto Transactions.
• Rwanda is Not Falling Behind: Working on its CBDC.
• User loses millions on Binance due to malicious Google Chrome plugin.
• Ledger begins shipping pre-orders of its new wallet: Ledger Stax.
• Cristiano Ronaldo and Binance join forces to launch a new NFT collection.
• Brazil’s Central Bank Aims to Finalize Crypto Regulation by End of Year.