Banco Santander SA's online bank Openbank has started offering retail cryptocurrency trading, marking the latest push by a large European financial institution into the asset class.
Processing Content
Starting Tuesday, the bank will allow its retail clients in Germany to trade Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Polygon and Cardano, Santander said in a statement. Openbank will expand the number of available tokens over the coming months.
The service will be rolled out to Openbank's customers in Spain in coming weeks, the statement said. Bloomberg News earlier reported on the banking group's plans to offer cryptocurrency trading.
Santander's efforts are the latest example of how European banks are starting to venture more deeply into the digital assets sector, months after the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation was fully implemented. It mirrors developments in the US, where President Donald Trump's vocal support for the industry and new stablecoin legislation have prompted major lenders to ponder issuing such tokens.
Santander also has early-stage plans to offer a stablecoin, Bloomberg reported in May. Stablecoins are typically designed to maintain a constant value against a traditional asset like the dollar. They've risen in popularity over the past year as regulatory frameworks were adopted around the world.
"By incorporating the main cryptocurrencies into our investment platform, we are responding to the demand of some of our customers," Coty de Monteverde, head of crypto at Grupo Santander, said in the statement.
Openbank will charge a fee of 1.49% on trades — with a minimum of €1 ($1.18) per transaction — and no custody fees.
The bipartisan legislation aimed at reducing barriers to new home construction, which included certain community bank riders, passed the lower chamber by a 358-32 vote.
Tech companies may be the biggest winners of a custodial deposit provision tucked away in a much-touted bipartisan housing bill set to become law this week.
New York State's attorney general has reached settlements with the two banks, which will pay a combined $90,000 in penalties in connection with alleged violations of rent stabilization laws.
The payment company is expanding the Afterpay buy now/pay later network and offering a Cash App mobile plan as it tries to draw consumers from legacy financial institutions and rival payment firms.
Senators from both parties criticized banks over overdraft fees, though populist Republicans and their more establishment conservative colleagues were split over whether blame for the problem lies with banks conduct or the consumers.
