Brazil’s largest asset manager Itaú Asset forms dedicated crypto unit

Itaú Asset Management, Brazil’s largest private asset manager, has created a dedicated crypto division and appointed former Hashdex executive João Marco Braga da Cunha to lead the new unit.

The unit builds on Itaú Asset’s existing crypto products, including the bank's Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and a retirement fund offering exposure to digital assets. Itaú Asset manages over 1 trillion reais ($185 billion) in assets for its clients.

“The crypto asset segment has unique characteristics for generating alpha. It’s a relatively new market that creates major opportunities due to its volatility,” Cunha said. He previously served as portfolio management director at Hashdex, the Brazilian firm that behind one of the country’s first crypto ETFs.

The move adds to Itaú’s broader push into digital assets. The bank already offers direct trading of 10 cryptocurrencies pairs through its mobile app, including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and USD Coin, with custody handled in-house.

Itaú Asset said the new division will develop additional crypto products, from fixed–income–style instruments to higher-volatility strategies such as derivatives and staking-based funds. The unit will operate within the firm’s mutual funds structure, which oversees over 117 billion reais across 15 investment desks.

Related: Brazil’s lower house to hold hearing on creating national Bitcoin reserve

Brazil leads region in crypto adoption

Brazil has emerged as one of the world’s largest crypto markets, ranking 10th globally in Chainalysis’ “2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index.”

Source: Chainanalysis, 2024 Global Adoption IndexThe growth has been driven by a supportive regulatory framework. In 2023, Brazil implemented its first comprehensive crypto law, establishing rules for virtual asset service providers and granting the central bank oversight of the sector.

After the law took effect, Itaú Unibanco launched crypto trading for retail clients in December 2023, initially offering trading for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) inside its mobile app, with custody of the assets provided directly by the bank.

In February 2025, Brazil’s securities regulator approved the country’s first spot XRP ETF from Hashdex. Around the same time, local lender Braza Bank announced plans to issue a real-pegged stablecoin on Ripple’s XRP Ledger.

Still, some regulatory uncertainty remains in the country. In June, Brazil introduced tax reform that replaced the progressive model with a flat 17.5% tax on all crypto capital gains

The policy eliminated the long-standing exemption allowing up to 35,000 reais ($6,500) in monthly tax-free sales and extended to self-custody, offshore holdings, DeFi and NFTs transactions, along with staking yields.

The EO faced immediate backlash and was revoked later in the same month.

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