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Ripple’s expanded alliance with a global banking giant marks a pivotal leap for crypto adoption, embedding institutional-grade custody into mainstream European finance under clear regulations.
Ripple and BBVA Expand Partnership in Clear Signal of Crypto Integration
Ripple announced on Sept. 9 that it is expanding its collaboration with BBVA, a major Spanish multinational financial services group, by providing its digital asset custody technology to support the bank’s new retail crypto services in Spain. BBVA has a significant global presence with operations in over 25 countries and serves more than 80 million customers.
The move comes after BBVA introduced trading and custody services for bitcoin and ethereum to its Spanish customer base. This latest step builds on Ripple’s earlier work with BBVA in Switzerland and Turkey, confirming the long-standing relationship between the two companies and highlighting Ripple’s growing footprint in regulated European markets. At the heart of the agreement is Ripple Custody, a platform designed to deliver institutional-grade safeguards for tokenized assets. Ripple outlined the scope of the partnership:
Through the agreement, BBVA will leverage Ripple Custody, Ripple’s institutional-grade digital asset self-custody technology to deliver a scalable and secure custody service for tokenized assets, including crypto-assets.
Cassie Craddock, Ripple’s managing director for Europe, stressed the importance of the regulatory environment in driving banks to act: “Now that the EU’s Market’s in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA) is established across Europe, the region’s banks are emboldened to launch the digital asset offerings that their customers are asking for.”
Craddock also reinforced the trend on social media platform X, writing:
Our new partnership with BBVA is another clear signal that the world’s largest banks are embracing digital assets, spurred on by regulatory clarity from frameworks like the EU’s MiCA regulation.
This development demonstrates how BBVA is continuing to integrate digital assets into its offerings while maintaining strong regulatory compliance. Ripple, which already has more than 60 licenses worldwide and over a decade of experience, is positioning itself as a trusted provider of custody, transfer, and exchange infrastructure for financial institutions. Supporters view the expanded partnership as evidence that established banks are gradually embedding crypto services into mainstream banking, while critics continue to caution about volatility and systemic risks.