--- title: "Brazil’s Banks Are Embracing Crypto — But They Still Won’t Bet Their Own Money" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/298297348.md" description: "Brazilian banks are expanding retail crypto offerings through licensed partners while holding zero digital assets on their own balance sheets. Major institutions like Itaú, Nubank, and Banco do Brasil facilitate customer transactions without exposing proprietary capital to market risks. This strategy is driven by clearer regulatory frameworks from the Central Bank, allowing banks to control infrastructure and custody services rather than investing directly in volatile tokens." datetime: "2026-09-08T09:56:59.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/298297348.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298297348.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/298297348.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Brazil’s Banks Are Embracing Crypto — But They Still Won’t Bet Their Own Money Brazil’s biggest banks are racing to put more cryptoassets in front of their customers, but there is one line they still have not crossed: putting their own money into digital assets. > Brazilian banks are expanding retail crypto offerings through licensed partners while keeping zero digital assets on their own balance sheets https://t.co/PwNkG7WpjN > > — Yellow Media (@YellowMedia\_HQ) September 8, 2026 Itaú now offers 15 cryptoassets through its investment app, including Bitcoin, Ether and USDC. Nubank lists 28 tokens, while Banco do Brasil began allowing customers to buy Bitcoin and Ether directly in January. The Banco do Brasil service has already processed more than 11 million reals in transactions, according to Folha de S.Paulo. Yet Central Bank filings from March 2026 reviewed by Folha show that Brazilian banks held zero proprietary cryptoassets on their balance sheets. The distinction is important: banks can custody and process digital assets for customers without exposing their own capital to crypto’s price, liquidity and credit risks. > 🔴 Brazilian Banks Hold Zero Crypto on Balance Sheet as Client Offerings Surge > > Brazil's crypto market moved R$505.5 billion ($98.7 billion) in 2025, a fivefold jump from R$94.9 billion in 2020, yet Central Bank filings from March 2026 show Brazilian banks hold zero virtual… pic.twitter.com/cn8LCWwvBP > > — NewsTongue (@NewsTongueX) September 7, 2026 The banking push comes as Brazil’s crypto market reaches record levels. Brazilians moved 505.5 billion reals through crypto in 2025, according to Receita Federal, more than five times the 94.9 billion reals recorded in 2020. Corporate activity accounted for almost all of that growth. Companies were responsible for 497 billion reals, or 98.3% of the crypto volume tracked by the tax authority, with individuals accounting for the remainder. Itaú, Bradesco, Santander, Banco do Brasil and Nubank have all expanded their crypto offerings since last year, suggesting traditional financial institutions increasingly see digital assets as a market they cannot afford to leave entirely to crypto-native platforms. But Brazil’s banks are entering the sector on their own terms. They are willing to distribute crypto, provide access and build infrastructure around it — without necessarily making Bitcoin or other tokens part of their own investment books. The shift has been helped by clearer rules. Brazil’s Legal Framework for Virtual Assets, passed in 2022, gave the Central Bank authority over much of the sector. Three resolutions published in November 2025 expanded the framework, requiring firms that allow customers to trade, hold or transfer crypto to obtain licenses, meet minimum capital requirements and segregate customer funds. > Central Bank of #Brazil Launches Public Consultation on Virtual Assets Service Providers (#VASP) Rulemaking #crypto#exchangeshttps://t.co/E3tQhphFlO > > — Bitcoin.com News (@BitcoinNews) December 19, 2023 The compliance deadline is Oct. 30, 2026. Resolution 521 also brings dollar-pegged tokens into the Central Bank’s foreign-exchange framework by treating purchases or exchanges of those assets as foreign-exchange operations subject to reporting requirements similar to sending money abroad. For conservative banks, clearer rules have helped turn crypto from a regulatory gray area into a business they can manage. Carlos Akira Sato, co-founder of consultancy Syscapital, told Folha that the greater regulatory clarity made Brazilian banks more comfortable launching crypto products. Banco Safra has taken that approach further by issuing its own dollar-pegged stablecoin, Safra Dólar, in September 2025 while keeping custody in-house. The product gives clients dollar exposure without requiring them to open an account overseas. That may point to where traditional finance sees the bigger opportunity: not necessarily owning volatile cryptoassets, but controlling the infrastructure through which customers access them. For now, the dividing line is clear. Brazilian banks are increasingly willing to sell crypto to customers, but they are still keeping their own balance sheets largely out of the market. With roughly 120 crypto firms operating in Brazil and most still racing toward the October licensing deadline, regulation is reshaping who gets to serve the country’s growing crypto economy — and the banks are positioning themselves to be among the biggest gateways. ### Related Stocks - [BDORY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BDORY.US.md) - [ITUB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ITUB.US.md) - [NU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NU.US.md) - [BBD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BBD.US.md) - [BBDO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BBDO.US.md) - [SAN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SAN.US.md) - [BNC.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BNC.UK.md) ## Related News & Research - [Itaú Unibanco to Repurchase BRL 11 Billion in Tier 2 Subordinated Bills](https://longbridge.com/en/news/299462418.md) - [Itaú Unibanco Enhances Governance With New Related Party Transactions Policy](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298925441.md) - [Nubank launches in the U.S. through a sponsor bank](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298772906.md) - [Aura Minerals secures US$ 200 million syndicated loan led by Citi, Itaú BBA](https://longbridge.com/en/news/299444414.md) - [Aura Minerals Secures US$200 Million Syndicated Loan to Support Production Growth](https://longbridge.com/en/news/299447703.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**