Spanish banks are now interested in offering crypto services to their account holders and will do all the arrangements to comply with upcoming crypto regulations. Banks are already on track to register for the list of virtual asset service providers and custody organizations that must be compiled by the Bank of Spain before 29th October.
The announced it would release the paperwork and instructions for interested parties in the upcoming registry, but it didn’t go well. This has made banks unsure whether they need to register again under applicable laws or not. Banks in Spain already comply with anti-money laundering laws, so according to some experts, re-registering should not be necessary for banks to offer crypto services.
Gloria Hernández Aler, a partner of the regulatory advisory firm Finreg, stated:
It would not make sense for a bank to have to go through the requirements imposed by the standard. However, it does make sense for them to notify that they are going to provide this type of service and, probably, they will need to change their money laundering policy.
Some banks in Spain have already made their plans to open crypto operations or are already operating with cryptocurrencies overseas. This is the case for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), which has already established a commercial crypto asset in Switzerland that offers exchange and custody services.
Another Spanish bank Caixabank with , is starting a pilot program offering these services in partnership with Onyze, a company that offers a custody-as-a-service program for enterprises. However, this pilot will not be offered to customers for the foreseeable future.
The cryptocurrency regulatory framework for the European Union, called MICA (Markets In Crypto Assets), is still under development.
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