Key Takeaways
- In Spain, BBVA customers will soon be able to buy, sell, and manage Bitcoin and Ether directly through their banking apps
- He emphasized that the bank’s role would be to facilitate access to digital assets while maintaining strong security and regulatory compliance.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Spain’s second-largest bank, has received regulatory approval to offer cryptocurrency trading services in the country. The Spanish Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV) has given the green light for BBVA to introduce Bitcoin and Ether trading through its mobile banking app, marking a significant step in the integration of digital assets within traditional financial institutions.
The move follows BBVA’s existing crypto services in Switzerland and Türkiye, where it has provided digital asset trading and custody solutions since 2021 and 2023, respectively. In Spain, BBVA customers will soon be able to buy, sell, and manage Bitcoin and Ether directly through their banking application, with the bank ensuring custody of these assets through its in-house cryptographic key storage platform rather than relying on third-party providers.
“We want to make it easier for our customers to invest in crypto assets with a simple, accessible offering available directly from their mobile phones, in a fully digital manner,” said Gonzalo Rodríguez, Head of Retail Banking at BBVA Spain. He emphasized that the bank’s role would be to facilitate access to digital assets while maintaining strong security and regulatory compliance.
BBVA’s decision to manage its own crypto custody distinguishes it from other banks that have partnered with external custodians such as Fireblocks, Taurus, or Metaco. The latter was acquired by Ripple in 2023, a move that prompted some banks, including Citi, to reconsider their custody arrangements. By keeping custody in-house, BBVA aims to maintain greater control over customer assets and security.
The expansion of BBVA’s crypto services aligns with the broader regulatory evolution in Europe, particularly under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which was fully implemented at the end of 2024.
While banks are not required to register as crypto asset service providers under MiCA, they must notify their local regulator and adhere to the regulatory framework’s standards. The bank’s move also comes amid a growing trend of European financial institutions integrating crypto into their offerings. Deutsche Bank in Germany and Société Générale in France have taken similar steps in expanding their digital asset services.
BBVA initially plans to roll out the service to a select group of clients before making it more widely available across Spain. The bank clarified that while it will facilitate crypto trading, it will not provide advisory services on digital assets.
BBVA’s involvement in digital assets goes beyond trading and custody. The bank has been actively involved in tokenization efforts, having experimented with digital bond issuances as early as 2018. More recently, BBVA Asset Management collaborated with Allfunds Blockchain to explore tokenized investment funds.
