UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest bank, is considering an expansion into digital assets that could include crypto custody, according to a Bloomberg report published Friday that cited people familiar with the matter.
The Milan-based lender is selecting a technology provider that would let it build the infrastructure needed to hold digital assets and facilitate their buying and selling, Bloomberg reported.
The report added that tokenized investment products, fixed-income securities, the use of stablecoins and exposure to cryptocurrencies are all being considered.
European banks are broadening crypto services
The reported plan comes as other banks across Europe move deeper into crypto.
In Spain, BBVA has rolled out bitcoin trading and custody to all customers through its app, using its own custody infrastructure instead of a third-party provider. Santander’s Openbank has also launched its own trading service.
Cecabank, a Spanish custodian with more than €400 billion under management that serves as infrastructure backbone for more than 100 financial institutions, went live with crypto custody in June through a partnership with Bit2Me.
In Germany, Deutsche Bank is building custody using technology from Bitpanda’s technology arm. Taurus and DZ Bank received approval from BaFin in January for the meinKrypto platform.
MiCA gives banks a regulatory framework
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA, gives banks a legal definition, a supervisor and a set of obligations for launching crypto services.
UniCredit is also one of 37 lenders from 15 European countries working together to create a company called Qivalis, with the aim of issuing a euro-denominated stablecoin.
UniCredit had already launched a related product
Last year, the bank said it was offering professional clients a structured product linked to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund, with full protection against losses.