The Bank That Took the First Step in Turkey Got the Permit, Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading Begins! - Coin Newsletter

BBVA, Spain's second-largest bank, is preparing to offer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading services to its customers with the approval of the financial regulator.

Spain-based financial giant Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has finally received official approval to offer its customers the ability to trade cryptocurrencies after a long-running regulatory process. The introduction of MiCA, the regulation of crypto asset markets that came into force throughout the European Union, played a critical role in the bank's taking this step.

Turkey was BBVA's first stop

BBVA's cryptocurrency adventure actually started much earlier. The bank first started working on stepping into the digital asset market in 2020. However, since the MiCA regulation has not yet been clarified in the European Union, the bank was planning to launch its cryptocurrency services primarily through Switzerland. Switzerland was the first choice for BBVA as it has clear regulations on digital assets.**

BBVA took its first concrete step in Turkey in January of this year. BBVA, which opened its cryptocurrency trading services to users through its subsidiary in Turkey, the Garanti BBVA Crypto platform, will now implement a similar step for its customers in Spain**.

Competition among banks is increasing

BBVA is not the only major bank in Europe to step into the cryptocurrency industry. Giant banks such as German Deutsche Bank and France's Société Générale have also entered the digital asset sector with similar services. Deutsche Bank is developing an Ethereum-based ZK-rollup technology, while Société Générale is issuing a euro-pegged stablecoin on the XRP Ledger.