US-based blockchain company Ripple has entered into a strategic partnership with Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), a leading Spanish bank, to offer crypto custody (custody) services.
BBVA Makes a Secure Transition to Crypto
BBVA recently launched a retail trading and custody service for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). With this new partnership, the bank will utilize Ripple's institutional custody infrastructure as the backbone of these services. BBVA Head of Digital Assets Francisco Maroto stated that Ripple's custody services provide the bank with an end-to-end secure infrastructure. "We can offer our clients a direct, secure, and regulatory-compliant custody service," Maroto said.
Cassie Craddock, Ripple's Europe Regional Manager, emphasized that banks can now take faster action thanks to the European Union's Crypto Asset Markets Regulation (MiCA). Craddock said, “BBVA is one of the region's most innovative banks. Thanks to MiCA, banks can now confidently deliver the digital asset services their customers demand.”
First Switzerland and Turkey, now Spain
This Ripple-BBVA partnership isn't new. BBVA Switzerland migrated its crypto custody infrastructure to Ripple's technology at the end of 2023. Garanti BBVA adopted Ripple's custody service in Turkey in 2024. The Spanish initiative stands out as the largest-scale implementation of this partnership in Europe.
IBM is also contributing to the project, which is being carried out through Garanti BBVA Crypto, by providing the security infrastructure. This platform, which has reached more than 14,000 users in Turkey, enables the buying, selling, and custody of popular assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana (SOL), Arbitrum (ARB), XRP, and USDC. The new partnership is expected to expand this model to a wider audience in Spain.
Europe Race Accelerates with MiCA
The MiCA regulation in Europe has accelerated banks' entry into the crypto space. Assessments from the CoinShares research team predicted that MiCA would mobilize the largest European banks in 2024. Today, we see this prediction come true. BBVA's move coincides with Deutsche Bank's plans to launch a Bitcoin custody service in 2025.
Deutsche Börse's Clearstream unit is preparing to launch crypto custody solutions for institutional clients, while Boerse Stuttgart Digital Custody became the first institution in Germany to receive a full license under MiCA. Standard Chartered also launched crypto services in Europe with a digital asset license from Luxembourg.
Having overcome years of legal battles with the SEC in the US, Ripple is now focusing more strongly on the European market. The acquisition of Swiss custodian Metaco allowed Ripple to provide institutional-grade infrastructure suitable for banks. The BBVA agreement was one of the most concrete steps that strengthened Ripple's strategy.
This new service offered by BBVA to its customers appears to be a sign that European banks will take a more active role in the crypto sector.
