BTG Pactual, a renowned Brazilian investment bank, has launched a new platform that allows clients to make direct investments in crypto. A report unveiled this news on September 20, noting that this move makes the bank the first big financial institution in Brazil to get involved with the crypto space. Reportedly, the platform is dubbed Mynt, and it will initially support Bitcoin (BTC/USD) and Ethereum (ETH/USD).
According to the report, the bank plans to add support for more digital currencies over time. In the long run, the financial institution intends to make Mynt a complete platform with blockchain-based assets. Per BTG Pactual’s CEO, Roberto Sallouti, the decision to roll out Mynt came in response to mounting customer demand for cryptocurrencies and its underlying blockchain technology.
Andre Porthilo, BTG Pactual’s Head of Digital assets, noted that the Brazilian Securities Commission and the Central Bank of Brazil would regulate its crypto business. He added that the participation of the authorities in this development would offer Brazil’s burgeoning crypto space credibility.
Porthilo further noted that BTG Pactual’s support offers Mynt features distinct traits in credibility and security. According to him, such characteristics are fundamental when exposing people to a new category of investments they are not acquainted with.
Growing interest in digital currencies
While Mynt is BTG Pactual’s first direct participation in the crypto space, the investment bank first dipped its toes in the nascent sector in 2019 by rolling out a security token. Reportedly, the bank launched a token dubbed ReitBZ. Backed by distressed real estate assets in Brazil, ReitBZ allows BTG Pactual to offer its real estate business to international investors at costs lower than when it leverages traditional means.
In April this year, BTG Pactual also launched a crypto fund, becoming the first bank in Latin America to achieve such a feat. The bank joined hands with Gemini to become the custodian of its BTC fund, titled Bitcoin 20 Multi-Market Investment Fund.
This news comes as the crypto market in Brazil continues expanding. Apart from BTG Pactual’s relentless efforts to bring the burgeoning asset class to Brazilians, payments giant Visa seeks to integrate crypto on its platform to let the country’s citizens use coins like BTC for payments and to store value.
Despite the bullish news of BTG Pactual launching Mynt, the crypto market is still bleeding at the time of writing, with BTC changing hands at $43,034.49 (£31,494.15) after losing 1.69% in 24 hours. ETH is also down 0.38% over the past 24 hours to trade at $3,048.75 (£2,231.18).
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