Itaú bank could start selling crypto directly soon, a move that could be “plug and play” according to a new executive. In Latin America, the largest bank is precisely Itau , which has billions of its customers under its management. In addition, the bank has a wide range of products that it offers to investors. Regarding the cryptocurrency market, Itaú already makes ETFs available to its clients to make the acquisition and begin to be exposed to the market, although in a totally indirect way.
Itaú’s adoption of Bitcoin-related products and other cryptocurrencies grows
Last week, on April 11, Itaú announced in partnership with a cryptocurrency company the launch of the fund Hashdex Crypto Selection FIC FIM. With exclusivity in the offer for the first three months, Itaú later launched another product linked to Bitcoin, ethereum Y other cryptocurrencies, through ETFs that accompany these currencies. Claudio Sanches, director of investment and pension products at Itaú Unibanco, highlighted the announcement saying the bank follows market trends.
“This announcement shows that we are attentive to the main market trends and to promote the sophistication of our clients’ investment portfolios. We already offered products on our shelf that access the areas of crypto assets and blockchain, and the possibility of this partnership to make the Hashdex Crypto Selection fund available complements the offer at this time. For clients who want this allocation, we want to provide a product that we believe has a more secure setup compared to more popular alternatives, despite the extremely high volatility of the final asset.”
Evolving, Itaú is already studying selling cryptocurrencies directly to customers
And a trend in this market around the world has been the entry of banks in the sale of cryptocurrencies. In Brazil, the first to announce this intention was BTG Pactual, with its platform called Mynt. Now, in an interview with Forbes Brazil, published this Monday (18), Fernando Beyruti, global head of its private banking, spoke about possible news that would reach the bank, interested in expanding its digital solutions. According to him, Itaú Private Bank already manages more than R$700 billion, but wants to expand its relationship with clients and their children, the latter interested in digital. Thus, Fernando said that the demand for the direct purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies aroused interest in clients, a reality that is already being studied in the bank for the launch of a possible trading option. Noting that market players are already prepared to serve customers in a possible service of this, still in the market research phase, the executive reported that he could easily launch a solution of this type, being “plug and play” . In other words, Itaú indicates that it is already studying the creation of a buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly to customers, although it is unclear whether a new platform would be created or the option simply integrated into existing services.
Sudden change in posture?
Itaú is part of a dispute against cryptocurrency brokers at Cade, where the bank did not make clear its interest in disputing positions in this market. In August 2021, for example, the bank was cited in the lawsuit after publishing announcements of investments in its ETFs. In response, Itaú only reported that it did not trade cryptocurrencies directly, only B3-listed funds and ETFs. Less than a year later, the bank has already reconsidered this option and is considering selling cryptocurrencies to its clients.
Itaú told Cade that it does not trade crypto directly.