Brazil’s Biggest Banks Are Opening the Door to Crypto
Published Sep 8, 2026
Brazilian Banks Expand Their Crypto Shelves
Brazil’s largest financial institutions are steadily turning crypto into a mainstream banking product. Itaú, Nubank and Banco do Brasil now allow retail customers to buy a growing selection of digital assets directly through familiar investment platforms.
Itaú, Brazil’s largest bank by assets under management, currently offers 15 crypto assets through its investment app. That selection includes Bitcoin, Ethereum and the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC. Nubank has gone even further, listing 28 different assets for its customers.
Banco do Brasil began offering direct access to Bitcoin and Ethereum in January. The public bank says customers have already completed more than R$11 million, or approximately $2.1 million, in transactions through the service.
Other major institutions, including Bradesco and Santander, have also expanded their crypto offerings since last year. The broader trend is clear: Brazilian banks increasingly view digital assets as another product their customers expect to find alongside stocks, bonds and funds.
Demand Has Become Too Large to Ignore
The expansion follows record activity in Brazil’s crypto market. Data attributed to the country’s federal tax authority shows Brazilians moved R$505.5 billion, approximately $98.7 billion, through crypto during 2025. That was more than five times the R$94.9 billion recorded in 2020.
Corporate activity accounted for most of that volume. Companies completed approximately R$497 billion, or $97 billion, in crypto transactions during 2025. That represented 98.3% of the total tracked volume, leaving individual investors responsible for the remainder.
Those numbers suggest Brazil’s crypto market is no longer being driven solely by retail speculation. Stablecoins, cross-border payments, corporate treasury activity and access to dollar-denominated value are becoming important parts of the story.
For traditional banks, that creates both an opportunity and a defensive challenge. If customers want crypto exposure, banks can either provide it inside their existing platforms or risk losing activity to exchanges and fintech competitors.
Regulation Is Giving Banks More Confidence
Brazil established its Legal Framework for Virtual Assets in 2022 and gave the Central Bank authority over the sector. Three resolutions issued in November 2025 added more detailed operating requirements for companies that facilitate crypto trading, custody or transfers.
Under the new framework, crypto service providers must obtain a license, maintain minimum capital and segregate customer accounts. Firms already operating in the market face an October 30, 2026 compliance deadline.
One of the measures, Resolution 521, treats the purchase or exchange of dollar-pegged tokens as a foreign-exchange transaction. That brings stablecoin activity under reporting standards similar to those applied when money is sent abroad.
This matters because regulatory clarity can favor large banks with established compliance departments, capital reserves and custody infrastructure. Brazil reportedly has roughly 120 crypto firms, many of which still need to complete the licensing process. Banks that already meet the regulatory requirements may be in a stronger position to keep expanding while smaller providers face higher operating costs.
The Banks Are Serving Clients, Not Betting on Crypto
There is an important distinction between offering crypto services and holding crypto as a proprietary investment. Central Bank filings dated March 2026 reportedly showed no virtual assets on the balance sheets of Brazilian banks.
In other words, these institutions are allowing customers to buy, sell and custody digital assets without using the banks’ own capital to speculate on them. The clients accept the market exposure, while the banks earn from providing access, infrastructure and custody.
That is a more conservative form of adoption than a bank placing Bitcoin directly in its treasury. Even so, it brings crypto into trusted financial platforms used by millions of people and reduces the friction involved in entering the market.
Stablecoins Are Becoming a Banking Product
Banco Safra has taken one of the industry’s boldest steps. The bank launched Safra Dólar, its own dollar-pegged stablecoin, in September 2025 and maintains custody internally. It promotes the product as a way for clients to gain dollar exposure without opening a foreign bank account.
This points to a wider shift. Banks are not merely adding Bitcoin to an investment menu; they are beginning to build stablecoin infrastructure that could eventually support payments, settlement and dollar access.
Brazil’s experience shows how regulation can accelerate institutional participation when the rules are clear enough for conservative financial companies to act. The banks still are not betting their own balance sheets on crypto, but they are making digital assets easier for their customers to access. That is a meaningful step toward crypto becoming part of everyday financial infrastructure.