Spanish banking group BBVA has launched bitcoin and ether trading and custody services for retail customers through its mobile app, expanding its regulated digital asset offering across Europe.
The rollout follows a regulatory filing with Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) in March 2025 and is now available to all customers of legal age.
The service enables customers to buy, sell, and hold crypto-assets within BBVA’s existing digital banking environment. BBVA fully integrated the service into its app and does not rely on third-party platforms or custodians. Customers initiate transactions independently and the bank does not provide investment advice.
“We want to make it easier for our retail customers in Spain to invest in crypto-assets, through a simple and easy-to-access digital solution on their cell phone,” said Gonzalo Rodríguez, head of retail banking for Spain. “Our goal is to support them as they explore digital assets, backed by the strength and security of a bank like BBVA.”
The service is designed to comply with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which sets standards for the provision of crypto-related services across member states.
Expansion
BBVA previously launched crypto trading and custody services in Switzerland in 2021 for private banking clients and in Turkey in 2023 through its subsidiary Garanti BBVA. The Spanish launch marks the third market where the bank has introduced its digital assets offering, as well as the first where it is targeting retail customers directly in its core market.
“Following this launch in Spain, BBVA has added another country to its digital assets service, which was first introduced in Switzerland in 2021, followed by Turkey in 2023,” said Francisco Maroto, head of digital assets. “Mirroring BBVA’s leadership in digitisation and innovation, we are continuing to grow our digital assets business, both with new assets (crypto or stablecoins) and with traditional assets in tokenised form (bonds, funds). Our aim is to offer the best investment and transaction-based solutions to our customers.”
BBVA uses its own custody infrastructure for the service, which the bank says allows it to maintain direct control over asset safekeeping. BBVA may also introduce additional crypto-assets and tokenised products in future phases.
