Spanish Banking Giant BBVA Takes a Big Leap into Crypto Ecosystem

BBVA, one of Spain’s largest banking institutions, is expanding its presence in the crypto market by introducing a new platform that will enable customers to trade cryptocurrencies. The move marks a significant milestone for the bank, which has been cautiously observing the development of digital assets over the years.

The new platform, Garanti BBVA Kripto, is a result of a partnership between BBVA’s Turkish subsidiary, Garanti BBVA, and Bit2Me, a Spanish-based cryptocurrency exchange. The joint venture will provide customers with a secure and user-friendly way to buy, sell, and trade various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

According to Abel Peña, chief sales officer at Bit2Me, the partnership is part of a broader trend that will see many European banks embracing crypto in the coming months. "I believe in 2025 we are going to see so many banks across Europe offering crypto spot trading to their users," he said in an interview with CoinDesk. "We are in very close contact with more than 50 financial institutions, with banks all across Europe and internationally, and they will start launching their services in the first quarter of 2025."

BBVA’s entry into the crypto market is significant given its size and influence in the global banking landscape. As of 2023, BBVA held over $857 billion in assets, making it the 43rd largest bank in the world at the time. Its decision to launch a crypto platform is likely driven by the increasing demand for digital assets among its customers.

The regulatory environment in Europe has played a crucial role in enabling BBVA’s entry into the crypto market. The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which came into effect on December 30, 2023, provides a clear framework for financial institutions to offer cryptocurrency services to their customers. With MiCA in place, banks like BBVA can now secure approval from domestic regulators and offer exposure to digital assets to their European customers.

The partnership between Bit2Me and Garanti BBVA Kripto is a key factor in making the platform accessible to a wider audience. As Peña noted, "As soon as they have the green light, they will start. This is from the knowledge that many of them are already integrated with us." However, he declined to disclose the names of the institutions involved.

So, what’s driving the banking sector’s sudden enthusiasm for crypto? According to Peña, regulatory certainty provided by MiCA has played a significant role, but other factors also contributed. The increasing popularity of cryptocurrency spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, which have raked in over $35 billion in inflows since their inception, is another factor. "We’re talking about an asset [bitcoin] that many users and companies want to gain exposure to," Peña said. "This is something that banks cannot deny anymore."

BBVA’s entry into the crypto market is not a new trend for European banks. Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest multinational investment bank, has been exploring blockchain technology for some time now. In 2023, it launched a project to build a rollup on Ethereum using ZKsync technology and began working on cryptocurrency custody and tokenization services with Swiss start-up Taurus.

Similarly, French financial services company Société Générale has its own crypto arm, called SG-FORGE, which recently announced plans to deploy its own euro stablecoin to the XRP Ledger (XRPL) network. The increasing interest in crypto among European banks reflects a growing recognition of the potential benefits digital assets can bring to their customers.

In conclusion, BBVA’s launch of Garanti BBVA Kripto marks an important milestone in the development of the crypto ecosystem. As more European banks begin to offer cryptocurrency services, it will be interesting to see how this trend evolves and what impact it has on the global financial landscape.