Brazil’s largest asset manager Itaú Asset forms dedicated crypto unit

Itaú Asset Management, Brazil’s largest backstage plus manager, has created a dedicated crypto part and appointed erstwhile Hashdex enforcement João Marco Braga da Cunha to pb the caller unit.

The portion builds connected Itaú Asset’s existing crypto products, including the bank's Bitcoin exchange-traded money (ETF) and a status money offering vulnerability to integer assets. Itaú Asset manages implicit 1 trillion reais ($185 billion) successful assets for its clients.

“The crypto plus conception has unsocial characteristics for generating alpha. It’s a comparatively caller marketplace that creates large opportunities owed to its volatility,” Cunha said. He antecedently served arsenic portfolio absorption manager astatine Hashdex, the Brazilian steadfast that down 1 of the country’s first crypto ETFs.

The determination adds to Itaú’s broader propulsion into integer assets. The slope already offers nonstop trading of 10 cryptocurrencies pairs done its mobile app, including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and USD Coin, with custody handled in-house.

Itaú Asset said the caller part volition make further crypto products, from fixed–income–style instruments to higher-volatility strategies specified arsenic derivatives and staking-based funds. The portion volition run wrong the firm’s communal funds structure, which oversees implicit 117 cardinal reais crossed 15 concern desks.

Related: Brazil’s little location to clasp proceeding connected creating nationalist Bitcoin reserve 

Brazil leads portion successful crypto adoption

Brazil has emerged arsenic 1 of the world’s largest crypto markets, ranking 10th globally successful Chainalysis’ “2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index.”

Source: Chainanalysis, 2024 Global Adoption Index

The maturation has been driven by a supportive regulatory framework. In 2023, Brazil implemented its archetypal comprehensive crypto law, establishing rules for virtual plus work providers and granting the cardinal slope oversight of the sector.

After the instrumentality took effect, Itaú Unibanco launched crypto trading for retail clients successful December 2023, initially offering trading for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) wrong its mobile app, with custody of the assets provided straight by the bank.

In February 2025, Brazil’s securities regulator approved the country’s archetypal spot XRP ETF from Hashdex. Around the aforesaid time, section lender Braza Bank announced plans to contented a real-pegged stablecoin connected Ripple’s XRP Ledger.

Still, immoderate regulatory uncertainty remains successful the country. In June, Brazil introduced tax reform that replaced the progressive exemplary with a level 17.5% taxation connected each crypto superior gains. 

The argumentation eliminated the long-standing exemption allowing up to 35,000 reais ($6,500) successful monthly tax-free income and extended to self-custody, offshore holdings, DeFi and NFTs transactions, on with staking yields.

The EO faced contiguous backlash and was revoked aboriginal successful the aforesaid month.

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