Share this article

Spanish Bank BBVA Gets Green Light to Offer BTC and ETH Trading: Report

BBVA had been working on allowing crypto trading services since 2020.

Updated Mar 10, 2025, 2:54 p.m. Published Mar 10, 2025, 6:01 a.m.
Spain flag. (Max Harlynking/Unsplash)
Spain flag. (Max Harlynking/Unsplash)

What to know:

  • Spanish financial giant Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has received approval from Spain's financial regulator to offer bitcoin and ether trading to its clients, as the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation takes effect across the European Union.
  • This approval concludes a multi-year process for BBVA to allow its clients to gain exposure to digital assets.
  • BBVA, which launched crypto trading in Turkey in January, is not the first European bank to enter the crypto market, with Deutsche Bank and Société Générale also offering crypto-related services.

Spanish financial giant Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has gotten approval from the country's financial regulator to offer bitcoin and ether trading to its clients, according to a Reuters report.

The approval come as the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation takes full effect across the European Union. This approval for BBVA marks the conclusion of a multi-year process for the Spanish lender to allow for its clients to get exposure to digital assets.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today. See all newsletters

In 2020, CoinDesk reported that BBVA planned to dip its toes in the sector, pending regulatory approval because MiCA wasn't yet in place.

BBVA initially planned to launch its crypto services from Switzerland rather than Spain or other EU countries because Switzerland already had a clear regulatory framework for digital assets under the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

In January, BBVA launched crypto trading in Turkey through a local subsidiary.

BBVA isn’t the first European bank to enter crypto, with Germany's Deutsche Bank developing an Ethereum rollup with ZKsync and offering custody with Taurus, while Société Générale’s SG-FORGE is launching a euro stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, CoinDesk previously reported.

More For You

KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

16:9 Image

KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

More For You

Ukraine banned Polymarket and there’s no legal way for it to come back

Kyiv in Ukraine (Glib Albovsky/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)

Polymarket and similar platforms are considered unlicensed gambling operators, leading to blocked access.

What to know:

  • Ukraine has no legal framework for Web3 prediction markets, and current legislation provides no recognition for such platforms.
  • Polymarket and similar platforms are considered unlicensed gambling operators, leading to blocked access.
  • Legal changes are unlikely in the near future, as Parliamentary revisions to gambling definitions are extremely improbable during wartime, leaving prediction markets in a legal deadlock.