Traditional Lenders Expand Into Digital Asset Trading
Several regulated banks are adding cryptocurrency trading to their existing investment services, using different approaches. BBVA lets retail customers in Spain buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin and Ethereum through its app with its own custody system. Standard Chartered has concentrated on institutional clients, providing spot trading for Bitcoin and Ether in the UK.
BBVA's Spanish retail rollout began in July 2025, letting adult customers trade and hold Bitcoin and Ethereum inside its app. The bank handles keys itself rather than relying on outside custodians, and it had already offered Bitcoin trading to Swiss private-banking clients in 2021.
Garanti BBVA added crypto portfolio tracking to its Türkiye app in August 2025, placing holdings, prices, profit/loss and watchlists alongside conventional investments. Standard Chartered, meanwhile, started UK institutional spot trading in July 2025 and extended BTC/USD and ETH/USD execution to the UAE in September 2026.
Retail customers in Spain and Türkiye may find crypto access simpler through familiar banking apps, potentially lowering barriers but also exposing less-experienced users to price swings and custody risks. Institutional clients could benefit from integrated execution and settlement, while regulators and consumer advocates may face pressure to clarify safeguards. Broader society could see digital assets become more normalized within mainstream finance, changing how people view investing, trust, and financial risk.