Banks sell crypto tokens across Brazil in growing volume, with Itaú Unibanco, Nubank and Banco do Brasil each listing more than a dozen digital assets while refusing to hold any cryptocurrency on their own balance sheets, a Sept. 7 report showed.
Key Takeaways
Itaú Unibanco, Nubank and Banco do Brasil each list more than a dozen digital assets without holding any cryptocurrency on their balance sheets Brazil passed its virtual-asset law in 2022, creating a licensing regime and giving Banco Central do Brasil oversight of the sector Nubank serves more than 100 million customers across Latin America and expanded its token list this year Itaú brokers trades through licensed partners, a structure that captures fee revenue while avoiding balance-sheet volatility
How Banks Sell Crypto Without Ever Holding It
Itaú Unibanco, Nubank and Banco do Brasil confirmed the rollout in a report, each selling upward of a dozen tokens including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) without adding coins to their own treasuries.
Itaú, Brazil's largest private lender by assets, brokers trades through licensed partners rather than holding coins itself, a structure that captures fee revenue while avoiding balance-sheet volatility.
Custody, the direct holding and safekeeping of an asset, remains the one function all three banks have chosen to outsource.
Bitcoin and Ethereum stay the most widely held tokens on these apps, echoing their dominance in global rankings.
From A 2022 Framework To Bank-Grade Access
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Brazil passed its virtual-asset law in 2022, creating a licensing regime for exchanges and handing Banco Central do Brasil oversight of the sector the following year. Banks stayed on the sidelines during that transition, wary of holding volatile assets on regulated books.
Their move into retail token sales now signals that Brazil's biggest lenders see the licensing regime as stable enough to build a distribution business around, even without owning the underlying coins.
Why Competition From Exchanges Keeps Rising
Nubank, the digital bank serving more than 100 million customers across Latin America, expanded its token list this year as local exchanges pushed harder for retail volume.
Banco do Brasil, the state-controlled lender, joined the push as licensed digital-asset platforms multiplied under the new oversight regime.
What Happens When Compliance Meets Retail Demand
The brokerage-only model leaves an opening for exchanges and fintechs willing to custody coins outright, and regulators are expected to watch bank-labeled crypto products closely as sales scale. Whether any of the three eventually puts crypto on its own balance sheet remains the open question this report left unanswered.
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