Banca Sella says it has cleared a key hurdle to offer crypto services under Italian rules. After completing a notification process with the Bank of Italy, it now expects to become the first Italian bank able to provide regulated digital asset services to its clients.
New Crypto Custody And Transfer Plans
The bank says it plans to roll out digital asset custody and transfer services for selected customers by the end of 2026. It has already been testing the technology internally, using Fireblocks’ infrastructure in a pilot that allowed a small group of employees to hold stablecoins and other tokens under bank-grade controls.
Banca Sella said that trial was a cautious way to add crypto while staying within existing risk and compliance rules, because that trial was custody not trading. After technological development and final clearances with the central bank, the bank now hopes to offer those services to a wider range of clients.
Banca Sella has also worked with the Bank of Italy’s Fintech Milano Hub since 2022 on projects involving tokenized assets and blockchain-based payment experiments. That participation has helped it build in-house expertise around digital asset custody, key management and MiCA-aligned compliance.
Role In Europe’s Euro Stablecoin Push
Banca Sella is also a founder member of Qivalis, a consortium of European banks working on a shared euro-pegged stablecoin, and has other intentions outside of Italy. The Amsterdam-based joint venture already includes 37 financial institutions in 15 countries and plans to launch a regulated euro stablecoin for on-chain payments and settlement later in 2026.
According to Qivalis, the goal is to offer “a shared euro-pegged stablecoin” that enables faster and cheaper payments and supports the settlement of tokenized financial assets “within a regulated environment.” BBVA, which recently joined the consortium, said the project will let banks provide new payment and asset services “backed by all the safeguards that a European bank can offer.”
Therefore, Banca Sella’s move to formalize crypto custody and transfers fits into a wider European push to keep banks at the center of digital money. If timelines hold, Italian clients could be among the first in Europe to access a full suite of bank-operated digital asset services, including a euro-pegged stablecoin, under the new MiCA framework.
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