Spanish Banking Giant BBVA Launches Bitcoin, Ether Trading Services

Spanish lender BBVA said Monday that it received approval from the country’s securities regulator to launch Bitcoin and Ether trading services in Spain, marking a significant step in its expansion into the digital asset space.

The service, set to roll out in the coming months, will allow BBVA customers to buy, sell and manage Bitcoin and Ether directly through the bank’s mobile app.

Initially, access will be limited to a select group of users before a broader rollout to all private customers across Spain.

This latest move builds on BBVA’s existing crypto offerings in Switzerland and Türkiye, where the bank has been providing digital asset custody and trading services since 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Spanish bank BBVA announced Monday the expansion of its crypto services to include USDC for institutional and private clients in Switzerland.https://t.co/SRHu2e0yv8

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) September 9, 2024

BBVA to Offer In-House Custody for Customer Crypto Holdings

Unlike many competitors that rely on third-party custody providers, BBVA said it will secure customer crypto holdings using its in-house cryptographic key custody platform.

The bank added that while the service will provide a secure and user-friendly experience, it will not include advisory services. Customers will have full control over their crypto investments and must take the initiative to trade independently.

Gonzalo Rodríguez, Head of Retail Banking at BBVA Spain, stated that the bank wants to simplify crypto investing by offering a service that is easy to use and fully digital, accessible directly from mobile phones.

He added that BBVA’s goal is to guide customers as they explore digital assets while ensuring that their investments are backed by the solvency and security of a well-established bank.

BBVA Sees Opportunity in Spain’s Rapidly Growing Crypto Market

BBVA’s entry into crypto services in Spain follows the success of its crypto offerings in Switzerland. In June 2021, BBVA Switzerland became the first branch of the bank to offer Bitcoin custody and trading to private banking clients.

Since then, it has expanded its crypto services to include Ether and the USDC stablecoin, attracting institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.

Spain’s cryptocurrency market has also experienced significant growth, reinforcing BBVA’s decision to expand its crypto services domestically.

A 2024 European Central Bank survey published in Jan. 2025 found that nearly 9% of Spaniards now own digital assets, more than double the figure from 2022.

Spain now matches France and Croatia in crypto adoption within the Eurozone but trails behind countries like Slovenia, where 15% of the population holds crypto, and Greece, where 14% own digital assets.

Many Spanish investors view crypto as a financial opportunity, with 57% treating it as an investment, 19% using it for payments and 20% engaging in both.

With growing regulatory clarity and increasing mainstream acceptance, projections from Statista suggest that crypto adoption in Spain could reach 31.55% by the end of 2025. Given Spain’s population of about 47m, that figure could translate into more than 15m crypto users.