BBVA Begins Acting as Independent Custodian for Binance Clients

Spanish bank BBVA is reportedly acting as an independent custodian for clients of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, helping those customers hold assets off the exchange.

The bank recently began offering this service and became one of only a few independent custodians for Binance, the Financial Times (FT) reported Thursday (August 7), citing unnamed sources.

Neither BBVA nor Binance immediately replied to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

This collaboration comes at a time when crypto exchanges are trying to reassure investors after the 2022 collapse of FTX and when traditional lenders are becoming more comfortable with working with the crypto industry after the United States and the European Union passed crypto-related laws, according to the report.

Binance once allowed its clients to only hold assets directly on the exchange or through a Binance-related entity called Ceffu, the report said.

However, in response to customers’ demands, the cryptocurrency exchange began allowing them to hold assets with independent custodians Sygnum and FlowBank, per the report.

In the custody arrangement with BBVA, the bank holds traders’ money in the form of U.S. Treasuries, while Binance accepts them as margin for trades on its exchange, according to the report.

Sygnum launched a real-time payment and settlement network in 2024 to offer a 24/7 network for instant transactions in both fiat currencies and cryptoassets, with no fees for transfers between network members, to help cryptocurrency companies execute trades and settle positions, PYMNTS reported at the time.

The company was among those looking to fill a gap left by the closure of Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) and Signature Bank’s Signet platform, both of which played a key role in providing liquidity to the crypto market.

Sygnum said in a May press release that it was seeing surging demand for Binance off-exchange custody, which went live in April 2024. The company said this offering enables institutional traders to access Binance’s trading universe and liquidity while maintaining their assets in Sygnum’s institutional-grade custody.

As for BBVA, it was reported in June that the bank was advising its wealthy clients to invest between 3% and 7% of their portfolios in the cryptocurrencies bitcoin and ether.