Brazilian banks are accelerating the expansion of their crypto asset business, but this expansion is more focused on the customer service side rather than the bank's own trading accounts. Local media, citing documents submitted by the Central Bank of Brazil, reported that as of March 2026, Brazilian banks still did not hold any virtual assets in their accounts; however, the number of crypto products offered to customers continued to increase.
Banks accelerate the listing of encrypted assets
The largest bank in Brazil by asset management scale, Ita, has already offered 15 types of crypto assets in its investment products, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and US dollar-stabilized coins USDC. The largest fintech company in Brazil, Nubank, currently offers 28 types of crypto assets.
Banco do Brasil Banco do Brasil began allowing customers to directly buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum in January of this year. The bank stated to the media that since the launch of this service, the cumulative transaction volume has exceeded 11 million reais.
The market scale has reached a new high.
Data from the Brazilian Federal Tax Service Receita Federal shows that in 2025, the local cryptocurrency market transaction volume reached 505.5 billion reais, more than a fivefold increase from 94.9 billion reais in 2020.
Among them, corporate transactions account for the absolute majority. In 2025, the total value of corporate crypto transactions reached 497 billion reais, accounting for 98.3% of the total statistics from the tax authorities, while individual investors accounted for a relatively smaller proportion.
Regulatory details encourage banks to enter the market
In 2022, Brazil adopted a legal framework for virtual assets, handing over industry regulation to its central bank. In November 2025, the central bank issued three resolutions that further clarified rules regarding licensed operations, minimum capital requirements, and customer asset segregation. Relevant institutions were required to comply by October 30, 2026.
Among them, Resolution No. 521 classifies the buying, selling, and exchange of US dollar-pegged tokens as foreign exchange operations, subjecting them to reporting requirements similar to those for cross-border remittances. This means that stablecoins have been officially brought under the more direct regulatory oversight of central banks.
The co-founder of consulting firm Syscapital, Carlos Akira Sato, stated that clearer regulations have increased banks' willingness to launch related products. For Brazilian banks, which have always been cautious, the resistance to expanding crypto services has significantly decreased since the regulations became clearer.
Banks still avoid holding coins in their own trading accounts.
The report mentions that Banco do Brasil's current cryptocurrency business mainly involves trading on behalf of clients, custodian services, and processing transfers, without incorporating these related assets into its own balance sheet. By this standard, Banco do Brasil has not yet truly assumed the risks of price fluctuations and liquidity issues associated with cryptocurrency assets.
In this context, some banks have begun to use stablecoins as an entry point closer to traditional financial services. Banco Safra launched its own US dollar-stabilized coin Safra D ó lar in September 2025, which is managed by the bank itself. The main focus is to provide customers with exposure to the US dollar without the need to open an account overseas.
Additional information:The report mentions that there are approximately 120 crypto companies in Brazil striving to meet licensing requirements by October 30, 2026. Banks that have already completed their compliance preparations first still have room to further expand their crypto product lines.
