Brazil's largest lender Itaú is stepping deeper into the tokenization

Brazil's largest bank, Itaú Unibanco, is expanding its involvement in tokenized assets, joining other prominent financial institutions in the country exploring blockchain technology. The bank has partnered with digital-asset infrastructure provider OpenAssets to pilot the tokenization of fixed-income securities and investment funds using distributed-ledger technology, according to a press release.

This project, supported by the Brazilian Financial and Capital Markets Association ANBIMA, will examine the necessary rules and technical standards for banks and asset managers to utilize such systems. Itaú Unibanco's participation lends credibility to the effort, as it is Latin America's largest lender with over $562 billion in total assets.

Tokenization, the process of converting traditional investments into digital tokens on a blockchain, is gaining traction in Wall Street, with estimates suggesting the market could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030. Brazil has become a significant hub for tokenization, with initiatives extending beyond bank-run pilots. In July 2025, VERT Capital planned to tokenize up to $1 billion of debt and receivables on the XDC Network, while crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin aimed to tokenize $200 million in assets on the XRP Ledger, including fixed-income and equity instruments.

Recently, tokenization has even reached the agricultural sector in Brazil, with farmers in Paraná tokenizing 10 cows for trading through a B3 exchange infrastructure. This ANBIMA initiative is not Itaú Unibanco's first foray into tokenization, as the bank was among the institutions selected by Brazil's central bank in 2023 for the Drex pilot, which tested blockchain-based transactions involving tokenized money and assets.

Gabor Gurbacs, chairman and CEO of OpenAssets, stated that Brazil has been a forward-looking market in finance, making it a natural place to transition tokenization from exploration to production. OpenAssets raised $10 million last year to build tokenization infrastructure, with investors including Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, and family members of Itaú Unibanco's founder.