Brazil’s largest private bank Itaú has established a specialized unit within its asset management arm, Itaú Asset, to develop cryptocurrency investment products, according to a report by Valor Globo. Itaú Asset has appointed João Marco Cunha, formerly managing director at crypto asset manager Hashdex (AUM $1.5bn), to head the new division. The move signals the institution’s commitment to building out its cryptocurrency offerings as demand grows in the Brazilian market. The bank currently manages three regulated cryptocurrency products with combined net assets of R$850 million ($156m). These include a Bitcoin exchange traded fund, the Itaú Bitcoin Index unit trust fund and the Itaú Flexprev Bitcoin pension fund. Through its “íon Itaú” investment platform, customers can also directly trade ten cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and the USDC stablecoin.