Brazil's Largest Bank Launches Crypto Trading Service

According to Reuters, Itaú Unibanco bank, the largest private bank in Brazil and Latin America, has just announced the launch of cryptocurrency trading services for users on its investment platform.

In the first phase, the bank will allow users to make transactions with the two most popular cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). In addition, Itaú Unibanco also plans to expand trading integration for many other cryptocurrencies in the future.

According to Reuters, Brazil’s largest bank Itau Unibanco announced the launch of a cryptocurrency trading service for users of its investment platform that will allow trading of BTC and ETH, and gradually add other crypto assets. https://t.co/Wk8sSHuSVd

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 4, 2023

Itaú Unibanco is a large-scale financial institution headquartered in Brazil, with more than 5,000 branches in Latin America and 5,119 offices globally. In 2021, Itaú achieved revenue of up to 4.5 billion USD. Regiment launched a cryptocurrency custody product called Itaú Digital Assets in mid-2022.

This move helps Itaú compete strongly with other local banks in Brazil, such as cryptocurrency exchange MB and the Mynt digital assets unit of investment bank BTG Pactual (BPAC3.SA), as well as such as the presence of giant Binance in Brazil.

Brazil is currently one of the top 9 countries in the world accepting cryptocurrencies, and is considered an important cryptocurrency market in Latin America. As of December 2022, Brazil has passed laws regulating the cryptocurrency industry, legalizing the use of crypto as an official payment method in the country. Recently, they also implemented identity verification through blockchain technology and plan to impose income tax on crypto at a rate of up to 15%.