Itaú Unibanco Pushes Tokenized Finance in Brazil

Brazil's largest bank, Itaú Unibanco, is pushing forward with tokenized finance despite global regulatory uncertainty. In collaboration with tokenization specialist OpenAssets, the bank is testing tokenized bonds and funds in a pilot program overseen by ANBIMA, the Brazilian securities industry watchdog.

The sandbox program aims to let regulated entities experiment with tokenized fixed-income instruments in a controlled environment. Itaú's move builds on earlier explorations of blockchain for settlement and asset registration. The bank is now moving into end-to-end tokenization, where bonds and fund shares are issued, transferred, and settled on distributed ledgers without the usual friction of legacy back-office systems.

ANBIMA's pilot is part of a broader push by Brazilian regulators to modernize capital markets. The country's central bank has been advancing its Drex digital currency project, a wholesale CBDC aimed at interbank settlement that could eventually connect with tokenized securities.