Santander-owned digital bank Openbank launched a cryptocurrency trading service.
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Openbank customers in Germany can buy, sell or hold Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Polygon and Cardano together with their other investments, according to a Tuesday (Sept. 16) press release. The service will launch in Spain in the coming weeks.
Customers do not need to transfer money to any other platform, the release said. The European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) provides investor protection.
In the months to come, Openbank will expand its portfolio of available crypto and offer new functionalities like conversion between different cryptocurrencies, according to the release.
“By incorporating the main cryptocurrencies into our investment platform, we are responding to the demand of some of our customers and continue to strengthen a broad range of products and services through an agile, simple technology platform backed by one of the world’s leading financial groups,” Santander Head of Crypto Coty de Monteverde said in the release.
The announcement followed a report from May that Santander was considering offering a stablecoin and providing its digital bank’s retail clients with crypto access. Rival BBVA said in March that it would begin offering crypto services after getting approval from Spain’s regulator.
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Meanwhile, stablecoins present challenges to regional lenders and credit unions in the form of deposit flight, PYMNTS reported Thursday (Sept. 11).
The problem facing lenders is being exacerbated by a shift in federal policy. For example, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which had long been viewed as cautious when it comes to digital assets, has now given its blessing to crypto and banking crossovers.
Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said last week that the crypto-related activities that many banks want to take part in are legally permissible and that such activities should not be stigmatized.
“This change in regulatory posture is reshaping the competitive landscape, opening the door for companies built on blockchain rails to operate with many of the privileges of regulated banks,” PYMNTS wrote Thursday. “For small institutions that once relied on regulatory protection to slow FinTech encroachment, the walls could now be closing in.”
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