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A Measured But Ambitious Project
According to an exclusive report from The Big Whale, clients of four regional banks, including Banque Populaire Île-de-France and Caisse d’Épargne Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, will be able to buy and sell bitcoin BTC, ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Circle’s USDC directly through their banking apps.
The service will reach approximately 2 million customers in the pilot phase, with BPCE planning to expand access gradually across its remaining 25 regional entities throughout 2026, ultimately making crypto trading available to its full 12-million-strong retail base.
A bank representative reportedly told the news outlet that the phased launch is intended to “monitor how the service performs at launch” before scaling.
Cryptocurrency purchases and sales will be handled via a dedicated digital asset account within the banking apps, overseen by BPCE’s crypto-focused subsidiary, Hexarq, according to The Big Whale. The account comes with a 2.99 euros ($3.48) monthly fee and a 1.5% trading fee, with a minimum charge of $1.16 per trade. Customers will be able to access the service without requiring external crypto exchanges or third-party wallets.
 
European Banks Embrace Crypto
BPCE’s roll-out comes amid increasing competition across Europe between traditional banking institutions and crypto-friendly fintechs, including Revolut and Trade Republic, all of which are giving customers access to digital assets.
Other European banks have made similar moves. Spanish banking giant BBVA earlier this year allowed its customers to buy, sell, and hold BTC and ETH directly within its banking app, supported by in-house custody.
More recently, Santander’s digital arm Openbank launched trading and custody for five crypto assets, while Raiffeisen Bank’s Vienna-based unit joined forces with Bitpanda to introduce crypto services to its retail customers.