Itaú Unibanco has deepened its participation in Brazil's tokenization movement through an expanded partnership with digital-asset infrastructure provider OpenAssets. The São Paulo-based bank, which is Latin America's largest lender by asset size with more than $562 billion in total assets according to S&P Global, is now working with OpenAssets on a structured use case within the tokenization pilot led by the Brazilian Financial and Capital Markets Association. According to OpenAssets' August 11 announcement, the project will examine how fixed-income securities and investment funds can be issued, traded and settled using distributed-ledger technology, while also studying the rules and technical standards needed for banks and asset managers to utilize such systems. The joint initiative brings together OpenAssets' tokenization infrastructure and Itaú's market expertise to move tokenization from early-stage exploration into practical execution, marking a significant escalation in institutional adoption of blockchain technology within Brazil's financial sector.
ANBIMA's program involves more than 50 financial and capital-market organizations participating in the tokenization pilot, as reported by OpenAssets. The project will examine the full lifecycle of capital-market products on distributed-ledger networks, beginning with issuance before moving through trading, settlement, and asset management. Fixed-income instruments covered include debentures, a type of corporate debt commonly issued in Brazil, while investment funds will form the second main asset group. The partners will develop technical proofs of concept and assess the architecture, standards, and compliance systems needed to support tokenized investments, with OpenAssets and Itaú advising on tokenization architecture and common standards. In April, ANBIMA selected 20 use cases for the pilot from 39 proposals submitted by more than 50 banks, asset managers and technology companies, with the tests being conducted on a private, permissioned DLT network in a simulated environment without real financial transactions.
Itaú's deepened involvement provides significant weight to the tokenization initiative, as the bank is Latin America's largest lender by asset size, according to Bloomberg data as of April 30, 2026. As reported by OpenAssets, the bank provides services to individuals and companies in Brazil and operates through other brands and business partnerships inside and outside the country. This marks the bank's second major tokenization effort, having been among the institutions selected by Brazil's central bank in 2023 to participate in the Drex pilot, which tested blockchain-based transactions involving tokenized money and assets. The partnership demonstrates Brazil's growing prominence in the global tokenization movement, with the country becoming a testing ground for placing bonds, credit, and other financial assets on blockchain under a regulatory framework. Gabor Gurbacs, Chairman and CEO of OpenAssets, stated that "Brazil has been one of the most forward-looking markets in finance and it is a natural place to move tokenization from exploration to production." The convergence of these initiatives underscores Brazil's trajectory as one of the most forward-looking markets in global finance, positioning the country to capture significant value in the next generation of digital asset infrastructure.
The value of tokenized real-world assets distributed on public blockchains has more than doubled over the past year, rising from around $18.9 billion in August 2025 to $38.3 billion today, according to RWA.xyz data. US Treasury debt represents the largest category, accounting for more than $16 billion of this growth. Tokenization has emerged as one of Wall Street's favorite use cases for blockchain technology, with banks and asset managers experimenting with putting bonds, funds, private credit and equities on digital ledgers. According to CoinDesk, Citi has estimated that tokenized securities could grow into a $5.5 trillion market by 2030 as financial assets move onto blockchain-based systems. This initiative aligns with Brazil's position as a key hub for tokenization, with the country already hosting significant tokenization projects including VERT Capital's plans to tokenize up to $1 billion of debt and receivables on the XDC Network, and Mercado Bitcoin's intention to tokenize $200 million in fixed-income and equity products on the XRP Ledger. Demonstrating the versatility of the technology, tokenization has even penetrated agricultural sectors; farmers in Paraná, facing difficulties in securing bank loans, tokenized 10 dairy cows and listed them for trading via infrastructure linked to the B3 exchange.
OpenAssets itself raised $10 million in 2025 to build tokenization infrastructure, with the funding round led by Latin America-focused venture firm Valor Capital Group. As reported by OpenAssets, participating investors included USDT stablecoin issuer Tether and members of the family that founded Itaú Unibanco. The company develops infrastructure and standards for real-world asset tokenization and sovereign digital currencies, contributing to open tokenization standards in collaboration with the Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust. OpenAssets is developing and contributing the open standards for tokenization in collaboration with the Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust. The company builds infrastructure for digital financial systems through shared standards and purpose-built technology for real-world asset tokenization and sovereign digital currency. In the current partnership, OpenAssets will provide its tokenization infrastructure, while Itaú will contribute capital markets expertise as the companies test how tokenized assets could operate within institutional frameworks. This dual focus on functional testing and regulatory compliance aims to create a replicable model for broader industry adoption, facilitating the transition of tokenization from exploration to production.
