Nikolas Sargeant
Garanti BBVA, Turkey's fifth-largest bank, is set to provide crypto trading services to its customers through Garanti BBVA Kripto, a crypto custody platform. This service will allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly from the platform, with Bit2Me, a Spanish crypto exchange, handling the trading execution.
The move follows the implementation of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which came into full effect on December 30, 2023. The new regulation gives banks in the EU the green light to offer crypto trading services with greater regulatory clarity, and Garanti BBVA's partnership with Bit2Me marks a significant step forward in Europe’s crypto adoption.
European Banks Poised to Follow Suit
According to Abel Peña, Chief Sales Officer at Bit2Me, more than 50 financial institutions across Europe and internationally are preparing to offer crypto trading services in 2025. Peña anticipates a surge in bank offerings starting in the first quarter of 2025. "We are in very close contact with banks, and they will begin launching their services soon," he said. The regulatory certainty provided by MiCA is a key factor driving this shift, alongside the growing demand for crypto exposure, particularly Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), among institutional investors.
BBVA, which held $857 billion in assets in 2023, is one of the largest banks to embrace crypto, signaling that the sector’s interest in digital assets is only set to grow. This move follows similar steps by other European giants like Deutsche Bank and Société Générale, which have been exploring blockchain and crypto services.
