Spanish Bank BBVA Received Approval to Offer Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading

Key Points

• Today, the bank received approval from the country’s regulator to offer BTC and ETH trading services in Spain.
• Deutsche Bank and Société Générale are other European banks offering crypto exposure.

The latest reports reveal that digital asset adoption efforts are intensifying in the EU. Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) received approval from the country’s regulator to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services.

BBVA Will Offer BTC and ETH Exposure to Spanish Clients

According to an official report from Reuters , the Spanish bank confirmed its approval from the national regulator to provide BTC and ETH trading services, allowing its clients to buy, sell, and transfer crypto securely via its application.

The approval comes after a multi-year regulatory process to enter the crypto industry for the bank. In 2020, BBVA planned to penetrate the digital asset sector but regulatory approval was not approved by now, when MiCA regulations are taking effect across Europe.

BBVA initially planned to launch its crypto services from Switzerland rather than Spain or other countries in the European Union because it has a clearer regulatory framework for crypto under the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

The MiCA Regulation institutes uniform EU market rules for crypto assets and the regulation’s entry into the EU was officially applied in December 2024.

In January 2025, BBVA also launched crypto trading in Turkey via a local subsidiary, Garanti BBVA Kripto, a local platform operated by Garanti BBVA, Turkey’s fifth largest bank. Bit2Me, a crypto exchange that was founded in Spain in 2014 is used as the bank’s trading execution center.

Crypto Adoption, Intensifying in Europe and the US

Besides BBVA, other important banks are engaging in crypto services across Europe. For instance, the Deutsche Bank provides crypto custody with Taurus, a leading provider of crypto infrastructure since September 2023.

Back then, Taurus announced that Deutsche Bank would leverage its custody and tokenization technology to manage crypto, tokenized assets, and digital currencies.

Also, Société Générale’s SG-FORGE launches a euro-backed stablecoin on the Stellar Network. This expansion will bring new opportunities for users and businesses to access a secure, transparent, and scalable digital euro stablecoin, powered by Stellar’s infrastructure. The announcement was made in February 2025.

Crypto adoption is intensifying in Europe as more banks engage in crypto activities.

This comes as US digital asset adoption efforts are also on the rise, with Trump recently signing an Executive Order for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Crypto Stockpile, and expecting new stablecoin regulation by August.

Also, the US OCC has recently confirmed that the Federal banking system can engage in certain BTC and crypto activities.