Ripple, the blockchain payments company, announced a strategic expansion of its custody services through a new partnership with Spanish banking group BBVA. Under the agreement, BBVA will integrate Ripple’s digital asset custody technology into its retail banking platform, enabling customers to trade and hold bitcoin and ether with institutional-grade security and compliance features that adhere to the European Union’s Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework.
MiCA, which came into force earlier this year, provides a comprehensive regulatory regime for digital-asset service providers across the EU. It standardizes licensing requirements, capital buffers and consumer-protection measures, facilitating cross-border provision of crypto services. BBVA was among the first major European banks to launch a cryptocurrency trading and custody offering, and the partnership with Ripple is intended to strengthen its infrastructure by leveraging Metaco, the Swiss custody specialist acquired by Ripple in 2022.
Francisco Maroto, BBVA’s head of digital assets, highlighted the importance of an integrated solution that combines bank-grade risk controls with blockchain-native capabilities. “By embedding Ripple Custody, we can offer end-to-end asset segregation and comprehensive audit trails, ensuring that client funds remain under our direct control at all times,” Maroto said. The service will initially pilot in Spain, with potential rollouts to additional European markets later in 2026.
Ripple Custody builds on technologies originally developed by Metaco, which BBVA has employed in its Swiss and Turkish operations since 2023. Those implementations demonstrated the platform’s ability to meet stringent local regulations while providing scalability for high-volume trading. The Spanish partnership extends Ripple’s footprint in Europe, where it holds multiple Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licenses covering custody, exchange and transfer services.
The collaboration is part of a broader trend of incumbent financial institutions partnering with blockchain firms to accelerate digital-asset adoption. Traditional banks have faced challenges in developing secure custody solutions in-house, leading many to seek established providers with proven track records. Ripple’s technology stack offers native support for multiple asset classes, multi-signature governance and automated compliance workflows, features designed to appeal to both retail and institutional clients.
Ripple’s managing director for Europe, Cassie Craddock, noted that the BBVA deal underscores a growing comfort among banks with regulated crypto offerings. “MiCA has unlocked a wave of innovation as financial institutions recognize the revenue potential in digital assets,” Craddock said. “This partnership demonstrates how banks can differentiate their product suites by combining core banking services with secure, compliant on-chain access.”
Reporting by Ian Allison; Edited by Parikshit Mishra.
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