Twenty of Europe’s Largest Banks Move Into Crypto After MiCA Opens the Door - Crypto Economy

2026-03-16 19:41:42

Twenty of Europe’s leading banks are actively integrating crypto custody and trading services, according to a BlockStories survey. This shift responds directly to the entry into force of the MiCA regulatory framework, which allows a financial institution to operate across all 27 European Union countries under a single crypto license, eliminating the costly process of obtaining authorization on a country-by-country basis.

Santander and BBVA are the most prominent institutions: both offer retail and institutional custody and trading services. BBVA was the first large-scale European bank to enable the purchase of Bitcoin and Ethereum directly from its mobile app in Spain Deutsche Bank operates an institutional custody service in partnership with Bitpanda and Taurus. DZ Bank recently launched its retail trading platform for its cooperative banking network.

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Also notable is the formation of Qivalis, an Amsterdam-based joint venture that brings together ten banks and entities, including BNP Paribas, ING, UniCredit and KBC, with the goal of launching a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin in the second half of 2026. The initiative explicitly aims to challenge the dominance of the US dollar in the stablecoin market.

Four years ago, those same banks were blocking transactions to cryptocurrency exchanges. The pace of change illustrates the extent to which MiCA has transformed the conditions for institutional participation in Europe. Nevertheless, excessively controlling parameters remain and must continue to be improved in order to guarantee greater financial freedom.

Source: https://x.com/MerlijnTrader/status/2033453214994223560

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