Ripple Partners with BBVA for Crypto Custody Services
Ripple, the United States blockchain company behind the XRP cryptocurrency, is set to offer crypto custody services to the Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA).
A Tuesday announcement revealed that Ripple’s agreement to deliver crypto custody services to BBVA follows the bank’s recent launch of its retail trading and custody service for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). BBVA will utilize Ripple’s institutional custody service to enhance its offerings for customers.
Francisco Maroto, BBVA’s head of digital assets, commented that Ripple’s custody service enables the bank to fulfill the necessary criteria to “directly provide an end-to-end custody service.”
Cassie Craddock, Ripple’s managing director for the European region, mentioned that the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) has spurred local banks to advance projects like BBVA’s.
“BBVA has long been one of the region’s most innovative banks,” she stated, in light of recent reports indicating that its advisers have recommended wealthy clients allocate between 3% and 7% of their portfolios to crypto.
This is not the first partnership between the two firms. BBVA Switzerland made the decision to transition its crypto custody infrastructure to Ripple’s service at the end of 2023, and Turkey-based Garanti BBVA adopted Ripple’s service in 2024.
The introduction of MiCA has led to an influx of traditional banks entering the crypto space. Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, deputy CEO of the EU-based crypto exchange Bitpanda, said in April 2024 that several of the largest banks within the European Union are keen to venture into the crypto industry as a result of MiCA.
This assertion has proven to be accurate. BBVA’s initiatives follow reports from early July indicating that Germany’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, plans to enable its clients to store cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin next year.
Additionally, Deutsche Börse’s trading unit, Clearstream, is gearing up to introduce cryptocurrency custody and settlement services for institutional clients this year. Earlier this year, Boerse Stuttgart Digital Custody became the first crypto asset service provider in Germany to secure a full license under MiCA.
Standard Chartered, one of the world’s leading banks, also rolled out its cryptocurrency services in Europe after acquiring a digital asset license in Luxembourg in early January.
