Banco Bradesco approves $2B capital increase to fund digital and crypto push

Banco Bradesco SA just told the market it plans to raise up to 10 billion reais, roughly $2 billion, with backing from its top investors. The capital increase is designed to fuel the Brazilian banking giant’s ongoing digital transformation, which increasingly includes blockchain infrastructure, stablecoin pilots, and crypto asset custody. What Bradesco is actually building Bradesco, Brazil’s second-largest private-sector bank by assets, has been assembling a crypto and blockchain playbook over the past several years. In January 2025, the bank partnered with Parfin, a digital asset infrastructure firm, to pilot stablecoin-based cross-border payments and trade settlements. Reports from May 2026 indicate Bradesco is preparing to launch digital asset custody services covering both crypto assets and stablecoins. The bank is also deeply involved in Brazil’s Drex CBDC pilot program, the central bank’s initiative to build a wholesale digital currency for the country. Bradesco has been collaborating with other major institutions, including Banco do Brasil and Itau, to explore use cases like collateralized credit on blockchain rails. Bradesco’s blockchain experiments date back to 2016, when ...