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Brazil's Banking Giant Itaú Opens Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading to 50M+ Customers
12/04/2024 03:12
Itaú Unibanco enters cryptocurrency market with Bitcoin and Ethereum trading, offering in-house custody and 2.5% transaction fees.
Key Notes
- Itaú Unibanco launches cryptocurrency trading through Ion app with a minimum investment of R$10 and a 2.5% transaction fee per operation.
- The bank has registered a 300% monthly volume increase since launching its crypto platform in 2023, with a 30% growth in new customers in the last month.
- The institution offers two applications: Superapp for novice traders and Ion for users with basic web3 knowledge, both featuring the bank's in-house custody services.
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 $95 630 24h volatility: 0.2% Market cap: $1.89 T Vol. 24h: $89.43 B and Ethereum ETH $3 595 24h volatility: 0.6% Market cap: $432.88 B Vol. 24h: $38.64 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 availability of digital assets in the Itaú ion reinforces our strategic agenda, as well as brings sophistication and democratization within the investment journey we offer to our customers. With this novelty, we have expanded our product shelf and provided another asset class for diversification, which must be done according to the profile of each one,” Cláudio Sanches, director of Products and Solutions for investors at Itaú Unibanco.
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.
“It is our attentive attention, every day, to the needs and demands of our customers, that allows us to be very assertive in providing new solutions. 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, noted.
However, the rate of Itaú’s cryptocurrency adoption will heavily depend on the country’s regulations. Furthermore, the bank is keen on the heightened risks of cryptocurrency adoption, including the possibility of system attacks to drain user funds as observed in the past.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
