Openbank, Grupo Santander’s digital banking division, has introduced cryptocurrency trading services for customers in Germany, allowing them to buy, sell and hold major digital assets through the same platform as their traditional investments. The service will extend to Openbank customers in Spain within weeks. The group is working on a stablecoin as well.
The crypto offering provides access to five cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Polygon and Cardano. Customers can manage these digital assets without the need to transfer funds to a crypto platform, while benefiting from regulatory protections under the European Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA).
The launch follows Openbank’s receipt of a Spanish MiCA license in July, which enables the bank to offer cryptocurrency services across European Union markets through passporting rules. Spain’s financial regulator CNMV has granted only three MiCA licenses to date, all to established banks. BBVA secured its license in February and launched services in July, while CECABank received approval on the same day as Openbank.
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