BBVA taps Ripple for institutional Bitcoin, Ether custody in Europe

Ripple, the US blockchain steadfast down the XRP cryptocurrency, volition supply crypto custody services to Spanish slope Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA).

According to a Tuesday announcement, Ripple’s statement to supply crypto custody services to BBVA follows the bank’s caller announcement of its Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) retail trading and custody service. BBVA volition trust connected Ripple’s organization custody work to powerfulness services to its customers.

BBVA’s caput of integer assets, Francisco Maroto, said that Ripple’s custody work allows it to conscionable the indispensable standards to “directly supply an end-to-end custody service.”

Ripple’s managing manager for the European region, Cassie Craddock, said the European Union’s Markets successful Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) has encouraged section banks to determination guardant with initiatives specified arsenic BBVA’s.

“BBVA has agelong been 1 of the region’s astir innovative banks,” she said, with her comments pursuing caller reports that its advisers had told affluent clients to invest betwixt 3% and 7% of their portfolios successful crypto.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria office successful Bilbao, Spain. Source: Wikimedia

This is not the archetypal collaboration betwixt the firms. BBVA Switzerland decided to move its crypto custody infrastructure to Ripple’s service backmost astatine the extremity of 2023, and Turkey-based Garanti BBVA adopted Ripple’s work successful 2024.

Related: EU lawmakers skeptical of integer euro arsenic ECB renews pitch

MiCA driving adoption among European banks

The rollout of MiCA has prompted a question of accepted banks to participate the crypto sector. Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, the lawman CEO of EU-based crypto speech Bitpanda, told Cointelegraph successful April 2024 that immoderate of the European Union’s largest banks are looking to participate the crypto industry arsenic a effect of MiCA.

The prediction proved to beryllium close connected the money. BBVA’s moves travel aboriginal July reports that Germany’s biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, plans to let its clients to store cryptocurrencies similar Bitcoin adjacent year.

Related: Coincheck acquires French crypto institution for European expansion

Deutsche Boerse’s trading unit, Clearstream, is besides preparing to motorboat cryptocurrency custody and settlement services for organization clients this year. Earlier this year, Boerse Stuttgart Digital Custody became Germany’s archetypal crypto plus work supplier to receive a afloat licence under MiCA.

Standard Chartered, 1 of the world’s largest banks, besides launched its cryptocurrency services successful Europe aft obtaining a integer plus licence successful Luxembourg successful aboriginal January.

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