Itaú Unibanco notified Brazil’s Central Bank on October 27, 2026, of its crypto trading and custody operations, becoming the first Brazilian bank reported to complete the formal notification process under the country’s new framework. The filing came three days before the October 30 transition deadline for institutions already providing crypto services.
The development is a regulatory milestone for Brazil’s largest lender rather than the launch of a new crypto product. Itaú has offered crypto trading through its íon investment platform since December 2023 and provides its own custody, according to the bank’s investment page.
Itaú files under Resolution BCB 520 ahead of deadline
CoinDesk reported that Itaú made its notification on October 27 under the new Brazilian rules. The reported first-mover status places the bank ahead of the deadline set for the transition of already-active providers.
Under Resolution BCB 520, institutions that were already offering crypto-asset services had to notify the Central Bank or seek authorization by October 30, depending on their regulatory category. The rule therefore created different compliance routes rather than a single process for every firm in the market.
Itaú’s notification is significant because it brings an established bank’s existing crypto operation into the formal transition set out by the Central Bank. It does not, on the information available, indicate a separate expansion of the products available on íon.
The filing covers both crypto brokerage and custody
The notification covers crypto-asset intermediation and custody. Resolution 520 treats those activities together within its brokerage category, linking the trading-facing service and the safekeeping function in the framework governing crypto-asset providers.
That classification matters for Itaú because its disclosed service already combines the two functions: customers can trade crypto assets through the bank’s investment platform, while custody is provided by Itaú itself. The Central Bank’s resolution sets the regulatory category for those services; the notification identifies Itaú’s operation within the transition process.
The framework is directed at the provision of crypto intermediation and custody, rather than simply at whether an institution has exposure to digital assets. For banks offering both services, the scope of the regulatory submission consequently extends beyond a trading interface alone.
A compliance milestone for Itaú’s existing íon crypto service
Itaú launched crypto trading through íon in December 2023. Its current crypto investment page says the bank provides its own custody and identifies Itaú Unibanco as a virtual-asset brokerage under Resolution 520/25, according to the bank’s disclosure.
That chronology distinguishes the October notification from a conventional market-entry announcement. Itaú had already made crypto trading available; the October action formalizes the operation under the rules that took effect in February 2026.
The filing also connects the bank’s product structure to the new legal classification. Intermediation and in-house custody are not separate additions announced after the rules arrived, but the services covered by the notification described in the reporting and the Central Bank’s framework.
Resolution 520 opens the bank channel for crypto services
Resolution BCB 520 took effect on February 2, 2026. The Central Bank says it permits banks, investment banks, multiple banks and certain securities firms to provide crypto-asset intermediation and custody services, as outlined in its November 2025 announcement.
The inclusion of those regulated financial institutions creates a defined channel for bank-provided crypto services, subject to the requirements applicable to their respective categories. For existing operators, the October 30 date was the immediate transition point specified in Resolution 520.
Itaú’s October 27 notification arrived just before that cutoff. As the first Brazilian bank reported to have completed the process, it provides an early example of how an already-live bank crypto offering is being placed under the new regime.
