Spanish monetary group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has obtained approval from the nation’s monetary regulator to supply Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) trading to its shoppers, based on Reuters.
BBVA’s growth into cryptocurrency trading follows the total implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Belongings Regulation (MiCA) on the finish of 2024. The approval permits BBVA to supply its shoppers with entry to digital belongings, concluding a multi-year course of for the financial institution to enter the cryptocurrency market. Though MiCA is now in impact, cryptocurrency firms in the European Union have till July 2026 to adjust to the regulation throughout an 18-month transition interval.
MiCA has pushed conventional monetary establishments and cryptocurrency-native firms to hurry up their efforts to safe licences and broaden their cryptocurrency providers. Brokerage agency Hidden Highway was granted a MiCA license in the Netherlands on December 30, 2024. Customary Chartered obtained approval in Luxembourg on January 9, and Boerse Stuttgart Digital Custody grew to become the primary MiCA-licensed cryptocurrency service supplier in Germany on January 17.
Cryptocurrency companies are additionally adjusting to the brand new regulatory surroundings. In January 2025, main exchanges like OKX, Crypto.com, and HashKey obtained MiCA approval. Bybit, which skilled one of many largest hacks in cryptocurrency historical past, was lately faraway from France’s banlist and appears to be looking for a MiCA licence at current.
BBVA’s path to cryptocurrency growth
BBVA’s curiosity in cryptocurrency dates again to 2020 when it trialled providing digital asset providers, pending regulatory approval. MiCA was not but in drive at the moment, so BBVA deliberate to launch its cryptocurrency providers from Switzerland. Switzerland’s Monetary Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) had a transparent regulatory framework for digital belongings in place, making it an interesting start line.
BBVA took its first step into the cryptocurrency market earlier this yr, when it launched cryptocurrency trading in Turkey by means of a neighborhood subsidiary. The financial institution targeting the Turkish market because the nation had a extra established regulatory surroundings for digital belongings.
In line with Javier Peña, BBVA’s head of digital belongings, the financial institution’s transfer into cryptocurrency was influenced by regulatory readability from MiCA and shifting political and market dynamics. Peña stated that US President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-cryptocurrency stance throughout his marketing campaign was an element. Trump has voiced help for Bitcoin and lately introduced the US authorities will create a strategic cryptocurrency reserve.
The rise of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has additionally contributed to rising curiosity in cryptocurrencies. ETFs in the US have attracted over $35 billion in inflows in a yr, signalling robust institutional demand for digital belongings.
European banks increasing into crypto
BBVA isn’t the one European financial institution entering into cryptocurrency. Deutsche Financial institution is engaged on an Ethereum rollup with ZKsync and has established a cryptocurrency custody service with Taurus. Société Générale’s SG-FORGE unit has additionally entered the market, launching a euro stablecoin on the XRP Ledger.
MiCA gives a single framework for digital asset providers throughout the EU, thus extra monetary establishments are anticipated to enter the cryptocurrency markets. BBVA’s approval permits it to supply cryptocurrency trading to a broader shopper base.
(Picture by Pixabay)
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