CaixaBank has secured a CASP license under the EU’s MiCA regulation, thereby allowing it to provide crypto custody and trading services.
With this authorization, CaixaBank can now offer regulated crypto-asset services to its customers. A full-scale launch of these services is anticipated in the near future. The licensed activities encompass a variety of services such as storing crypto-assets, receiving, transmitting, and executing buy and sell orders, along with transferring crypto-assets. The bank has stated that these services will be rolled out through its current digital infrastructure while fully adhering to regulatory requirements.
Expanding into regulated digital assets
MiCA, which is now in effect across the EU, establishes a unified regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities and enhances investor protection. Nevertheless, MiCA acknowledges that investments in crypto-assets come with inherent risks, including high price volatility, lack of investor compensation mechanisms, and technological risks.
CaixaBank’s CASP license builds on its earlier efforts to enter the digital asset market. Via its digital banking platform and the imagin brand, the bank has been providing customers with access to exchange-traded products (ETPs) tracking bitcoin performance since 2024.
Furthermore, CaixaBank’s MiCA authorization places it among a growing number of EU financial institutions offering direct crypto-asset services as the regulation encourages the formalization of the sector across member states.
Broader digital assets and payments landscape
Beyond crypto-asset services, CaixaBank is engaged in several other areas related to digital finance. The bank participates in Qivalis, a collaborative effort by 12 European banks aimed at developing an EUR-linked stablecoin as a blockchain-based payment solution for the European financial ecosystem. CaixaBank also partners with the European Central Bank (ECB) on the creation of the digital euro, having jointly developed a peer-to-peer payment wallet prototype using the digital euro in the ECB’s initiative. In broader payments, the bank operates in the Iberian market through its subsidiary, CaixaBank Payments & Consumer.
