TL:DR Breakdown:
- A Spanish bank, BBVA, is reportedly planning to launch digital currency services in Switzerland, including crypto trading.
- The services are expected to be launched later in January, as they await regulatory approval.
A leading Spanish financial services company, BBVA, is reportedly planning to debut crypto trading and other digital currency-related services in the coming months. This is quite an important development that will enable more access to cryptocurrency. It also confirms that financial institutions are gradually picking interest in cryptocurrencies and will slowly fall into the industry as key players to digital currency adoption.
BBVA to debut crypto trading in Switzerland
According to recent industry reports citing two sources familiar with the matter, the second-largest Spanish financial company intends to launch crypto trading and custody services, beginning with Switzerland. The decision could stem from the fact that Switzerland is a crypto-friendly nation with concise regulations regarding digital currencies. The sources informed that the bank has already filed with the Swiss regulators for approval.
There wasn’t any specific date mentioned for the BBVA crypto trading; however, the services may not launch this year. According to the source, there are still requirements to be met, but they expect the services to launch early next year. At the moment, the Spanish bank is reportedly collaborating with Switzerland-based companies – METACO and Avaloq – to enable its custody services through SILO. BBVA reportedly started working on the custody service about six months ago.
“The project has to pass through several processes to get a green light and become a reality,” the source added.
Banks are joining the crypto space
In October, it was learned that another big-name Singaporean bank, DBS, was planning to launch a proprietary digital currency exchange to facilitate the trading of popular cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and others. As reported, the exchange would support about four fiat currencies, including the Singaporean dollar. Besides supporting crypto trading, the platform will allow security token offerings (STO).
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