Spanish Banking Giant BBVA Rolls Out USDC Integration for Swiss Clients

• The crypto asset services of BBVA in Switzerland have integrated stablecoin USDC. 
• BBVA launched the service with Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2021.

Spanish multinational banking giant Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has officially integrated USD Coin (USDC), the second largest stablecoin issued by Circle, into its crypto asset services for institutional and private banking clients in Switzerland. 

This initiative enables clients to manage their USDC holdings—exchange, custody, or automatically convert USDC into euros, dollars, or any other currency—alongside their traditional investments on a unified platform. Reportedly, this integration is aimed at corporations and investment fund managers, who use stablecoins like USDC, to facilitate faster cryptocurrency trades across various exchanges.

In the press release, Philippe Meyer, BBVA’s Head of Digital Solutions and Blockchain, stated:

“We want to offer our private clients a simple access to the tokenized products they are most interested in and cannot access through traditional financial institutions. Meanwhile, our institutional clients need us to provide options to guarantee the assets they manage.”

According to Philippe, they plan to examine all the crypto assets their institutional clients are investing in to keep enhancing their offerings with additional innovative solutions. Whereas, USDC enabled the bank to offer crypto asset trading, custody, and transfer services in Turkey through Garanti BBVA Digital Assets as of June. Additionally, clients can trade other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Avalanche (AVAX).

Circle’s USDC As the Third Crypto Asset

USDC is the third cryptocurrency BBVA has incorporated into its digital asset service in Switzerland. In 2021, the bank launched its service with Bitcoin and Ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market volume and demand.

Moreover, BBVA migrated its custody capabilities to Metaco’s Harmonize platform, a digital asset operating system, in late 2023. It enhances transaction efficiency, adheres to high-security standards, and allows connections with other blockchain networks.

Major investment firms and banking giants use stablecoins in their operations to maintain stability during market fluctuations. It acts as a buffer against the volatility of other cryptocurrencies.

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