Brazilian banking giant Itaú Unibanco enhances its digital asset offerings by launching cryptocurrency trading services on its Ion investment platform, allowing customers to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum with a minimal entry threshold.
Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A (Brazil: ITUB3) announced today the expansion of its cryptocurrency services by introducing a new trading feature on its Ion investment platform. Building upon its existing cryptocurrency offerings and responding to growing investor demand for digital asset diversification, the bank will now enable registered customers to actively trade crypto assets directly through the Ion app.
To begin with, Itaú Unibanco customers will have access to two crypto assets, including Bitcoin BTC $85 394 24h volatility: 1.0% Market cap: $1.69 T Vol. 24h: $10.79 B and Ethereum ETH $1 606 24h volatility: 1.1% Market cap: $193.81 B Vol. 24h: $5.08 B . The veteran Brazilian banking giant, founded in 1924 and managed to accumulate over $526 billion in total assets, will hold the customers’ digital assets through its in-house custody services, as reported by BeinCrypto.
The initial rollout phase of the crypto trading services involved customers registered on the ion app with a minimum investment value set at R$10. Itaú Unibanco has set a transaction fee of about 2.5 percent, which will be charged at the time of purchase.
Meanwhile, Itaú Unibanco also launched the Superapp, which will be accessible to novice cryptocurrency traders. The company’s ion app will be majorly tailored for cryptocurrency traders with basic knowledge about the web3 industry.
Itaú Unibanco’s Cryptocurrency Market Outlook
The Brazilian banking giant has been morphing alongside the financial market through the adoption of digital assets and blockchain technology. Since the launch of its crypto trading platform in 2023, the bank has registered a volume monthly spike of about 300 percent.
Additionally, Itaú Unibanco has seen its new crypto customers increase by over 30 percent in the last month, heavily bolstered by the ongoing bullish outlook.
“We tested the trading of crypto assets on a smaller scale, we had significant adoption from our customers, and now we are ready to offer this modality to all customers, with all the simplicity of the superapp and the security of Itaú,” João Araújo, Director of Business, Platforms and Digital Experiences at Itaú Unibanco, explained in an interview.
“There is a very high demand from clients wanting to transfer from self-custody to Itaú’s custody,” Araújo said, outlining the bank’s expansion plans for 2025. “Regarding deposits, we want to move forward faster, and throughout the first semester, we should have good news about this evolution.”
However, when asked about the possibility of withdrawals to other cryptocurrency platforms, the executive was more cautious, stating that they are still studying the potential impact while considering regulatory dependencies.
This prudent approach aligns with Itaú’s broader strategy, as the pace of its cryptocurrency adoption will continue to be shaped by Brazil’s regulatory framework.
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