Italy-based Banca Sella announced that it has completed the mandatory notification process with the country’s central bank, Banca d’Italia. With this step, the bank became the first bank in Italy to gain a legal basis for offering cryptocurrency services. The group plans to open digital asset custody and transfer services to certain customer segments by the end of 2026.
Active by year-end
According to Banca Sella’s statement, the bank aims to launch digital asset custody and transfer services within this year. While these services will only be offered to specific customer categories, the bank also signaled that it does not plan to limit its crypto offering to these two products.
Andrea Tessera, the group’s Head of Digital Banking, commented on the development as follows: The shift toward instant, interoperable, and programmable payment models, together with the tokenization of money and assets, is radically transforming financial infrastructure in Europe and globally. Banca Sella’s new services are positioned directly within this transformation.
The bank is not taking this step from scratch. The group has long been investing in both technological infrastructure and human resources in the fields of distributed ledger technology, blockchain, and digital assets. Since 2022, the bank has participated in pilot programs run under Banca d’Italia’s Fintech Milano Hub. It is also among the founding members of the Qivalis consortium, which brings together 37 European banks and aims to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin.
A milestone for MiCA compliance
The completion of the notification submitted to Banca d’Italia places Banca Sella in the position of Italy’s first bank that can begin offering services under Europe’s crypto regulatory framework, MiCA. MiCA stands out as a comprehensive EU regulation covering crypto assets and industry participants.
The group’s focus is not limited to its current services. Banca Sella says it is also closely monitoring other developments in tokenization, especially the Pontes and Appia projects carried out under the Eurosystem with coordination from the European Central Bank.
Europe ahead of the US
This picture once again highlights the regulatory gap between Europe and the United States. Apart from some exceptions in the investment banking segment, much of the US banking sector is still waiting for comprehensive legislation that would clarify the limits and opportunities in crypto. The Clarity Act remains stalled in Congress without making progress, and serious questions remain over whether it will become law this year.
By contrast, Europe has paved the way for banks to enter crypto services by implementing a comprehensive and functioning regulatory framework such as MiCA. Banca Sella’s move is a concrete example of how this framework is being received in the traditional finance world.
