BBVA (BBVA) Gets the Greenlight to Offer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) Trading

Spain's Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) had greenlit the request of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) to offer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, commonly known as BBVA, has received the greenlight from Spain’s Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) to offer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading and custody services for its customers.

The regulatory nod follows the second-largest Spanish bank’s aggressive expansion in the digital assets space. It will be rolling out the cryptocurrency trading feature of its mobile app. Initially, the service will be available to a select group of users with limited crypto assets, namely BTC and ETH.

Later, it will be open to all private customers, and the bank plans to expand its crypto offerings beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.

BBVA will integrate its crypto trading and custody services with the standard banking features of its mobile app, allowing customers to manage their crypto portfolio alongside their fiat accounts, investment funds, payments, and the bank’s other regular services.

The bank’s crypto trading services will not rely on third parties for the custody of its customers’ crypto assets. It will be utilizing its own cryptographic key custody platform to further enhance the security of its crypto assets and significantly mitigate the chances of vulnerabilities within its system.

The Spanish bank clarified that it does not offer any advisory services for crypto investors. The service will only be available at the customer’s initiative.

“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, BBVA Head of Retail Banking in Spain.

“Our goal is to guide them as they explore this new segment of digital assets, backed by the solvency and security assurances provided by a bank like BBVA.”

BBVA’s latest milestone in its homecourt comes hot on the heels of its newly forged partnerships with organizations and regulatory approvals to expand its global footprint in the digital age of finance.

Last October, Turkiye-based Garanti BBVA announced its partnership with Ripple and IBM to launch its own crypto trading platform for over 14,000 customers. The new feature supports currencies in Bitcoin, Ether, Solana (SOL), USDC, XRP, Avalanche (AVAX), Arbitrum (ARB), and Chiliz (CHZ).

Meanwhile, BBVA Switzerland has been in the crypto business since June 2021. In September, it expanded its support to USDC in addition to its offerings in Bitcoin and Ethereum.