Brazil's largest private asset management company, Itaú Asset Management, has established a dedicated cryptocurrency department and appointed former Hashdex executive João Marco Braga da Cunha to lead this new division.
The department builds on Itaú Asset's existing crypto products, including the bank's Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and retirement funds that provide exposure to digital assets. Itaú Asset manages over 1 trillion reais (approximately $185 billion) in assets for its clients.
"The cryptocurrency asset space has unique characteristics in generating excess returns. It is a relatively new market that has created significant opportunities due to its volatility," Cunha stated. He previously served as the portfolio management director at Hashdex, one of the Brazilian companies behind the country's first crypto ETFs.
This move strengthens Itaú's broader positioning in the digital asset space. The bank has offered direct trading of 10 cryptocurrency pairs through its mobile app, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and USD Coin, with custody services handled internally.
Itaú Asset indicated that the new department will develop more crypto products, ranging from fixed-income instruments to high-volatility strategies such as derivatives and staking funds. The department will operate within the company's mutual fund structure, which manages over 117 billion reais in assets across 15 investment departments.
Brazil has become one of the largest cryptocurrency markets globally, ranking 10th in Chainalysis' "2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index."
This growth has been driven by a supportive regulatory framework. In 2023, Brazil implemented its first comprehensive cryptocurrency law, establishing rules for virtual asset service providers and granting the central bank regulatory authority over the industry.
Following the law's enactment, Itaú Unibanco launched crypto trading for retail clients in December 2023, initially offering Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading within its mobile app, with asset custody provided directly by the bank.
In February 2025, Brazil's securities regulator approved the country's first spot XRP ETF launched by Hashdex. Around the same time, local lending institution Braza Bank announced plans to issue a stablecoin pegged to the real on Ripple's XRP Ledger.
Despite this, some regulatory uncertainties remain in the country. In June, Brazil introduced tax reforms, replacing the progressive tax system with a flat tax rate of 17.5% on all crypto capital gains.
The policy eliminated a long-standing exemption for monthly sales of up to 35,000 reais ($6,500) and extended to self-custody, offshore holdings, DeFi, NFT trading, and staking yields.
The executive order faced strong opposition and was revoked later that month.
Related: Opinion: Forget Wall Street, because the real disruption in cryptocurrency is AI agents
Original: “Brazil's Largest Asset Manager Itaú Asset Establishes Dedicated Crypto Unit”
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