Is Spain’s banking system ready to immerse itself in the world of cryptocurrencies?

The entry into force of the Regulation for the Cryptoasset Market (MiCA) in the European Union, scheduled for the end of this year, has generated a debate among banks in Spain about the possibility of entering the bitcoin (BTC) business.

According to what some members of the bank have expressed to local media, doubts persist about whether or not they should get involved in the world of cryptocurrencies. This suggests that Your participation in this ecosystem will continue to be limited, despite the new regulation established.

However, entities such as BBVA, Santander, CaixaBank and Sabadell have already announced their plans to enter the cryptocurrency market.

BBVA has been doing so since 2021, when through its subsidiary in Switzerland, it offered services with bitcoin to clients with a minimum equity of USD 10,000. Santander did something similar in 2023 using the subsidiary Santander Private Banking International; and Caixabank established alliances with seven fintechs in order to participate in a pilot project for the development of a cryptoasset buying and selling service.

It is known then that these banks are designing new strategies in the face of the imminent arrival of MiCA. And in that sense they have said that They plan to limit their services within this segment to offering custody and buying and selling. of cryptocurrencies.

According to what they point out, these entities are “walking on eggshells,” although They admit that they are products that whet the appetite of their customers.

This recognizes the interest that Spaniards show in this ecosystem. They take into account statistics that not only indicate that 5% of the country’s population owns cryptocurrencies, But many investors – including investment funds – have a high interest in this type of asset.

However, analysts observe that the plans of Spanish banks, in principle, will tend to be restricted and will focus mainly on private banking, so services are not expected to be offered to retail customers. Above all, when observing the skepticism that other entities still express.

In this sense, Caixabank reports that they have not yet reached a final decision, since they consider that they do not have sufficient preparation to advise and make recommendations on the cryptocurrency market.

“There is still a lot of progress to be made, since it is necessary to define what exactly a crypto asset is and how they should be accounted for,” they added. On the other hand, entities such as Banco Sabadell have stated that currently the business with bitcoin is not among their main priorities.

Big banks continue to venture into bitcoin

All this is happening in Spain while banks in the rest of Europe and other parts of the world advance in offering services with bitcoin. This is how the negative predisposition towards bitcoin of financial entities has been changing substantially in the last yearespecially after the approval of ETFs in the United States.

As CriptoNoticias reported, the list of financial entities that offer services with bitcoin is increasing. It includes European entities such as MoraBanc, Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank AG and Deutsche Bank. Large global entities join in, such as BNY Mellon, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, US Bank and BTG Pactual, among others.

Consequently, it is to be expected that the fearful attitude currently shown by Spanish banks change over time. All this, as regulatory bodies prepare for the application of MiCA regulations, which favor institutional adoption allowing banks to register as service providers with cryptoassets.

Regarding this, the head of the European policy division of the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, Janet Ho, has expressed her conviction that the interaction between the bitcoin ecosystem and the traditional financial system will be even greater with MiCA.

This is an integration that could facilitate collaborations between banks and DeFi platforms, helping the creation of new financial products such as exchange-traded funds in cryptocurrencies and project financing through smart contracts.

Ho highlighted the trend followed by European countries adapt your local legislations and prepare them for the implementation of the MiCA law. The rules are gradually being adapted to the new Regulation in the 27 countries of the bloc, and the supervisory bodies are making progress in creating a registry for cryptocurrency exchanges.

Particularly in Spain, at the end of last year the Spanish government advancement the entry into force of MiCA in the countryso the National Securities Market Commission of Spain (CNMV) is preparing to exercise the new powers over crypto assets that were assigned to it.

The market supervisor is requiring information from banks about their plans regarding the cryptocurrency-related services they plan to offer starting in December. They have sent them a questionnaire asking what type of benefits they will offer once the cryptocurrency sector is officially regulated in Spain.