BBVA seems to be leading the way in the race to crypto mass adoption in Europe. Ethereum (ETH) has a huge ecosystem of decentralized finance use cases with speedy mass adoption rates. Many institutional investors are considering Ether to be a store of value.
According to a Coinbase report, a huge number of its institutional investors have taken considerable positions in ether, which is the native currency of the Ethereum network. Most of these investors have turned to the second-biggest crypto due to its strong returns. Interestingly, the same clients predominantly acquired Bitcoin in 2020.
ETH versus Banks
The grip centralized finance firms have issued several warnings to the global population that engages in the crypto sector. Ethereum is the biggest platform for decentralized finance and is now worth more than all banks except JP Morgan Chase.
Nonetheless, there is a development that may give ETH the much-desired push to propel it higher. That push might enable it to overtake JP Morgan Chase. One of the biggest European banks has now confirmed that it will widen its crypto trading service offering by adding Ethereum (ETH) to its portfolio.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) – Switzerland has now become the first traditional bank in the whole of Europe to integrate Ether into its services. All the private banking clients of BBVA Switzerland can now manage ETH and BTC on its platform.
In that context, in June 2021, BBVA (Spain’s second-biggest bank) launched Bitcoin trading for all private banking customers who are interested in crypto assets. Today, the private banking clients of the Switzerland branch of the bank can manage Bitcoin and Ethereum on its platform.
Furthermore, clients with a New Gen account can access the two biggest cryptos which are also available on the BBVA app together with the other traditional investments. The said institution has seen a considerable surge in interest from its customers. Concurrently, the CEO of BBVA Switzerland, Alfonso Gómez, stated:
Buy Crypto Now“We decided to add ether to our crypto-asset ‘wallet’ because, together with Bitcoin, they are the protocols that spark the most interest among investors, while also offering all the guarantees to comply with the regulation.”
The inclusion of ETH is somehow justified with the biggest demand coming from investors who are interested in diversifying their portfolios. Ranging from individual clients to various family offices to institutional investors.
BBVA Switzerland will also continue to expand its offering of digital assets in the coming months. The official press release highlighted:
“With this innovative offer, BBVA has positioned itself as a leading bank in the adoption of blockchain technology, thus making it easier for its customers to invest in this new digital world.”
The Road Ahead For BBVA
BBVA is now offering a new service in Switzerland since it has already developed an advanced blockchain network. Its ecosystem comes with clear regulation and a high level of adoption of the different digital assets that appeal to its customers.
Their rapid expansions to new nations and other types of clients depend on whether the available markets meet the ideal conditions with regard to demand, maturity, and regulation. In general, the market capitalization of virtual currencies increased by nearly 200% this year. It will not come as a surprise if more banking institutions jump into the $2 trillion investment pool.
