Brazil's largest asset management giant Itaú Asset has established a new encryption division, targeting the new blue ocean of digital assets.

2025-09-08 05:07:58

Brazil's largest private asset management company Itaú Asset Management announced the establishment of a dedicated encryption asset department and appointed former Hashdex portfolio management director João Marco Braga da Cunha to lead it. This move marks a new phase in the company's layout in the digital asset field, aiming to seize a share of the rapidly rising crypto market.

From Bitcoin ETF to Comprehensive Encryption Products

Itaú Asset has a certain foundation in the encryption field, including Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and retirement funds that provide exposure to digital assets. The company currently manages assets exceeding 1 trillion reals (approximately 185 billion USD) for its clients.

The newly established encryption department will develop a more diversified product portfolio based on the existing foundation, covering:

Fixed Income Crypto Tools
Derivative Products
Staking Funds and High Volatility Strategies

Led by former Hashdex executives

Cunha has extensive experience in the crypto asset investment field and was involved in the launch of Brazil's first crypto ETFs. He stated, “The crypto asset market is highly volatile, but it also creates opportunities for generating excess returns.”

Itaú's encryption strategy in the retail sector

Itaú Unibanco has provided direct trading of 10 trading pairs such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and USD Coin (USDC) through its mobile application, with custodial services offered internally by the bank.

Brazil: Leader in Latin American Crypto Adoption

According to Chainalysis' 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index, Brazil ranks 10th in the world and is the leader in crypto adoption in Latin America.

Regulatory Advantage: Implementation of the first comprehensive encryption law in 2023, granting regulatory power to the central bank.

Market Innovation: In February 2025, Brazil approved its first spot XRP ETF; Braza Bank announced plans to issue a stablecoin pegged to the real on the XRP Ledger.

Regulatory challenges and opportunities coexist

Despite a relatively mature regulatory framework, Brazil still faces policy fluctuations. The tax reform set to launch in June 2025 originally planned to impose a unified tax rate of 17.5% on all crypto capital gains and eliminate the monthly tax exemption of 35,000 reais, covering self-custody, DeFi, NFT, and staking earnings. However, the policy was withdrawn in the same month due to market backlash.

Conclusion

Itaú Asset has established a dedicated encryption department, not only in response to Brazil's rapidly rising digital asset market but also as a reflection of global asset management giants expanding their crypto business landscape. With the regulatory environment gradually improving and product innovation accelerating, Brazil is expected to become an important hub for global encryption asset investment, and Itaú Asset's new department will play a key role in this competition.

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