Largest Bank in Brazil Moves to Invest in Bitcoin Mining

Itau Unibanco’s venture arm has invested up to $10 million in Minter, a startup deploying mobile data‑center containers to convert curtailed renewable energy into bitcoin mining revenue. The deal positions Minter to monetise a large addressable market after Brazil curtailed about 20% of solar and wind output in 2025 (roughly $1.2B in lost generation). Minter expects to reach ~40MW of mining capacity by year‑end and targets 500MW by 2029, with expansion plans into the U.S. Itau’s backing could accelerate on‑site demand for otherwise wasted renewable power, increase institutional participation in mining infrastructure, and modestly bolster Bitcoin’s ecosystem and electricity demand dynamics—a generally bullish signal for bitcoin miners and for BTC demand driven by mining-led power consumption.