Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA of Spain (BBVA) is considering launching cryptocurrency services, Coindesk says. The release depends on regulatory authorizations. The new company’s headquarters should be in Switzerland, a country that already has advanced rules in the segment.
Spain’s second largest bank has recently integrated a solution to provide custody infrastructure called SILO. Russia’s Gazprombank made a similar move. The solution was designed by Avaloq, a banking software development startup, and METACO, a Swiss cryptocurrency specialist.
BBVA joins other cryptocurrency services institutions
BBVA joins other banking institutions that offer crypto services, such as trading and custody. The move follows the interest from the institutional market and retail investors in bitcoin and the digital asset market in general.
Coindesk mentions that some banks’ refusal to enter this market may be detrimental to them. Traditional securities investors have changed focus to cryptocurrencies in recognition of bitcoin as a protection against inflation.
In the United States, the Office of the Controlling of the Currency (OCC) has authorized national banks to offer cryptocurrency custody services. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were some of them.
