According to a report from the regional newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, Santander Brazil, the third-largest private bank in the nation, is preparing to introduce Bitcoin and cryptocurrency services for their customers. 

CEO Mario Leao stated during his interview: 

We expect to have definitions about it in the next few months, who knows in the next release [of quarterly results], or even before.

In response to critics who believe that Santander is chasing a trend by offering Bitcoin and crypto services, Leao added that Santander recognizes that this industry is here to stay due to high client demand.

Recently, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway-backed Nubank, the largest digital bank in Brazil, purchased Bitcoin and integrated trading capabilities to its mobile application. With this new feature, Nubank’s app now allows for 53 million Brazilians to conveniently purchase BTC.

Additionally, both Brazil's largest private bank, Itau Unibanco, and the country's largest investment broker, XP Inc., made announcements about their upcoming launches for similar services that will soon be available for their clients. BTG Pactual, a massive investment bank, is also experimenting with offering Bitcoin and crypto trading.

Bitcoin adoption as well as the use of other cryptocurrencies have increased significantly in Brazil over the last few years. Last year, a Chainalysis report detailed the top 20 nations worldwide for Bitcoin adoption while using various metrics for their findings. Brazil placed fifth overall for on-chain value transacted while rating 14th overall for Bitcoin and crypto adoption.

Brazil's rising use of Bitcoin is related to the nation's increased advancements in the broader financial services industry; the country's Pix payment system enables anyone to instantaneously transfer money seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The nation is also home to Mercado Bitcoin, which is supported by Softbank and is the largest Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange in Latin America.

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