Itau Unibanco’s Ion Platform Now Offers Crypto Trading for All Clients

Itau Unibanco, Brazil’s and Latin America’s biggest bank, has opened cryptocurrency trading for all its customers.

The bank’s investment application, Ion, allows customers to invest in and trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) within the app. This came after the feature was first introduced in December 2023, when it was only available to a few users.

To assess the interest and adoption level of the users, the bank performed weekly surveys with its first set of users relative to cryptocurrency trading. In an interview with Brazilian newspaper Valor Econômico, Guto Antunes, the head of Itau Digital Assets, the response to the news was very favorable.

”We have interest and a partnership with Liqi but nothing regarding custody. The entire custody solution has been built and managed with Itau’s architecture and with fiduciary responsibility,” Antunes elaborated.

Custom-Built Custody Solution

Itau Unibanco reportedly wanted to secure its client’s digital assets, so it created its custody solution. Every user has a digital wallet with separate funds intended to ensure the safety of the user’s funds and compliance with the legislation. Antunes stressed that the bank is keen to manage the custody function in-house instead of outsourcing it.

Currently, the bank only handles Bitcoin and Ethereum but plans to diversify its currency list. The bank is still seeking legal advice from the Central Bank of Brazil, especially on stablecoins.

”We are in synchronization with the central bank in the formulation of rules, and we want to expand appropriately,” said Antunes.

Being a regulated financial institution, Itau Unibanco is quite conservative in offering cryptocurrency-related services. The bank’s strategy of holding on until there is a definite guideline on stablecoins depicts the bank’s compliance with regulations and risk management. This way, it is guaranteed that the bank’s cryptocurrency services do not constitute a legal issue or have risks.

About cryptocurrency, Itau Unibanco has launched new services focusing on trading and has been operating in the digital assets market since July 2022. The bank introduced the tokenization business and set up a Digital Assets team to support firms in tokenizing their assets on the blockchain. This unit is intended to help expand the use of blockchain technology in the financial markets.

Competitive Landscape in Brazil’s Crypto Market

The entry of Itau Unibanco into the cryptocurrency market means it will join other local and international companies that engage in the trade, such as the crypto exchange MB, BTG Pactual’s digital assets unit Mynt, and Binance. Consequently, the bank plans to use a large customer base and strong brand awareness to conquer the Brazilian cryptocurrency market.

Itau Unibanco, which has more than 60 million customers and about 100,000 employees, has recently joined the cryptocurrency trading market, which can be considered integrating digital assets into the traditional financial sector. The Ion platform has already launched over 3 million users and has gained popularity. This would be because the app, downloaded 5 million times on Android and iOS platforms, will fuel the use of cryptocurrencies in Brazil.