Ripple is strengthening its presence in Europe through a new partnership with BBVA, a major Spanish bank, to provide digital asset custody services.
Announced on September 9th, this initiative brings Ripple’s institutional-grade custody platform to Spain, empowering BBVA to securely store and manage cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets for its clients. Learn more about it
here.
By utilizing
Ripple’s custody solution, BBVA can expand its digital asset services while adhering to stringent regulatory and security requirements. This positions the bank to capitalize on growing customer demand for direct crypto access, bypassing the need for third-party intermediaries.
This development aligns with BBVA’s recent introduction of
retail services for trading and custody of
Bitcoin and
Ethereum in Spain. Customers can now seamlessly buy, sell, and store these leading cryptocurrencies through the bank’s mobile app.
BBVA has informed the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) about this new retail offering.
The bank emphasizes that all services are designed to comply with the EU’s newly enacted
Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, ensuring customers retain control and initiate transactions directly through the app.
MiCA compliance
Cassie Craddock, Ripple’s Managing Director for Europe, highlights that these advancements reflect the impact of MiCA on established European banks. She explained that the implementation of MiCA is bolstering confidence among banks across the region, encouraging them to launch digital asset services in response to customer demand.
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BBVA executives echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that this collaboration expands the bank’s comprehensive suite of crypto services.
Francisco Maroto, head of BBVA’s digital asset division, stated that Ripple’s custody system provides the necessary operational reliability and security to foster customer confidence.
He further elaborated:
“Through this agreement we can deliver on our goal of supporting our customers to explore digital assets, backed by the strength and security of a bank like BBVA.”
This partnership builds upon earlier collaborations between Ripple and BBVA in both Turkey and Switzerland.
Notably, BBVA Switzerland previously
teamed up with Metaco, a company owned by Ripple, in 2023 to develop its digital asset infrastructure.