TLDR
- Itaú Unibanco, Latin America’s largest bank, has joined an ANBIMA-led tokenization pilot with digital asset firm OpenAssets
- The pilot will test tokenized fixed-income securities and investment funds using distributed ledger technology
- ANBIMA selected 20 use cases from 39 proposals submitted by over 50 financial institutions
- The value of tokenized real-world assets on public blockchains has grown from $18.9 billion to $38.3 billion in one year
- Brazil has become a growing hub for asset tokenization, with multiple large-scale projects already underway
Itaú Unibanco, Latin America’s largest private bank, has teamed up with digital asset infrastructure provider OpenAssets to take part in a tokenization pilot overseen by Brazil’s Financial and Capital Markets Association, ANBIMA.
LATEST: Brazil’s largest bank Itaú Unibanco has joined a pilot with OpenAssets to test the issuance, trading and settlement of tokenized bonds and investment funds on blockchain. pic.twitter.com/7aP39rR5bC
— The Crypto Times (@CryptoTimes_io) August 12, 2026
The pilot will test how fixed-income securities and investment funds can be issued, traded, and settled using distributed ledger technology. The two companies will develop technical proofs of concept and look at the compliance and operational requirements for running tokenized assets within institutional frameworks.
Itaú brings considerable weight to the project. The São Paulo-based lender holds more than $562 billion in total assets, according to S&P Global.
OpenAssets will provide the tokenization infrastructure for the tests. Itaú will contribute its capital markets experience as the two firms work through what institutional-grade tokenization would look like in practice.
How the Pilot Is Structured
ANBIMA selected 20 use cases for the pilot in April, chosen from 39 proposals put forward by more than 50 banks, asset managers, and technology companies. The tests are being run on a private, permissioned distributed ledger network in a simulated environment, with no real financial transactions taking place.
Debentures and investment funds are among the specific use cases being explored. The work will also examine the technical standards and rules that banks and asset managers would need to follow to operate such systems.
This is not Itaú’s first move in this space. The bank took part in Brazil’s central bank Drex pilot in 2023, which tested blockchain-based transactions using tokenized money and assets.
Brazil’s Growing Role in Tokenization
Brazil has become one of the more active markets for tokenized assets. In July 2025, credit firm VERT Capital announced plans to tokenize up to $1 billion in debt and receivables on the XDC Network. Crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin also announced plans to tokenize $200 million in assets on the XRP Ledger.
In one of the more unusual cases, farmers in the Brazilian state of Paraná tokenized 10 dairy cows and listed the tokens for trading through infrastructure connected to the B3 exchange.
Globally, the value of tokenized real-world assets on public blockchains has more than doubled in 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 is the largest category, accounting for more than $16 billion.
OpenAssets raised $10 million last year to build its tokenization infrastructure. The round was led by Valor Capital Group, with investors including Tether and members of the founding family of Itaú Unibanco.
“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,” said Gabor Gurbacs, chairman and CEO of OpenAssets.
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