Brazil’s largest privately-owned asset manager, Itau Asset Management, has now recommended its investors allocate 1% to 3% of their portfolios to bitcoin. In a year-end note, Renato Eid, head of beta strategies and responsible investment for the venture, argued that bitcoin’s lack of correlation with traditional local assets makes it a useful diversification tool.
The note further echoed the bitcoin allocations recommended by other major asset managers. Recently, Bank of America greenlit wealth advisors to recommend a BTC allocation of up to 4%, while BlackRock has pointed to 2%. The guidance further emphasises Bitcoin’s role as a complementary portfolio component rather than a core holding.
Eid emphasised a measured approach, not turning crypto into the centrepiece of a portfolio but using it as a complementary asset that can help absorb shocks from currency depreciation and global volatility. It is worth mentioning that Brazilian investors experienced heightened volatility as the real strengthened approximately 17% against the dollar in 2025. This currency volatility also amplified local losses for investors holding dollar-denominated assets like Bitcoin.
Bitcoin (BTC), the virtual currency, had a turbulent 2025, which saw the cryptocurrency surge to an all-time high above USD 125,000 in October before retreating to current levels around USD 90,000.
“An asset distinct from fixed income, traditional stocks, or domestic markets, with its own dynamics, return potential, and — due to its global and decentralised nature — a currency hedging function. The idea is not to make crypto assets the core of the portfolio but to include them as a complementary component — sized appropriately to the investor’s risk profile,” Eid wrote.
Products like BITI11, a bitcoin ETF traded in Brazil, saw their performance in reais affected by the weakening fiat currency. But in periods of stress, like the one seen in late 2024, the global nature of BTC provided some insulation.
Eid, however, warned against trying to time the market and suggested a disciplined, long-term mindset. A small, steady exposure to bitcoin can act as a partial hedge and offer access to global returns, especially as traditional asset correlations become less reliable.
“It calls for moderation and discipline: set a strategic slice (for example, 1%–3% of the total portfolio), keep a long-term horizon and resist the temptation to react to short-term noise,” Eid concluded.
Talking about Itau and the crypto market, the venture, in September 2025, established a specialised unit within its asset management arm, “Itau Asset,” to develop cryptocurrency investment products. Itau Asset is currently led by Joao Marco Cunha, formerly managing director at crypto asset manager Hashdex. Itau is right now managing three regulated cryptocurrency products with combined net assets of RUSD 850 million (USD 156 million).
These include a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, the “Itau Bitcoin Index Unit Trust Fund” and the “Itau Flexprev Bitcoin Pension Fund.” Through its “Ion Itau” investment platform, customers can directly trade ten cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and the USDC stablecoin.