Banca Sella has become the first Italian bank licensed to offer cryptocurrency services to its clients after receiving authorization under Europe’s MiCA regulations from the Bank of Italy. For banks, MiCA provides a fairly straightforward process, simply requiring them to notify their regulator 40 days in advance. Sella plans to launch services later this year.
Based on Sella’s announcement, it appears to be targeting digital asset custody for corporate and institutional clients. It mentioned offering services to select target groups, and emphasized custody, receipt and transfer of digital assets. Generally custody services need the ability to transfer assets, but buying and selling was not discussed. We contacted Sella to confirm, but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.
“To be the first Italian bank able to offer custody and transfer services for crypto assets is a major step, in line with the broader European transition towards new digital models,” said Andrea Tessera, Managing Director of Digital Banking at Banca Sella. The bank was among the inaugural group to announce membership of Qivalis, the stablecoin consortium which now has 37 banking members.
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