Italy's second-largest bank, UniCredit, is selecting a technology provider to build crypto custody and brokerage infrastructure, according to a Bloomberg report. The bank has not made a final decision, but the move would follow other European lenders that have added digital-asset services under the EU's MiCA framework.
UniCredit is selecting a technology provider that would let it hold digital assets and facilitate their buying and selling, according to a Friday Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter. The plans could also bring tokenized investment products, fixed-income securities, stablecoin use and broader cryptocurrency exposure to the bank's offering.
However, UniCredit has not made a final decision on the provider or specific services, and could still change or abandon parts of the strategy as discussions continue.
European banks have already moved into crypto custody
Other lenders across Europe have already moved. Spain's BBVA rolled out bitcoin trading and custody to all customers through its app using its own custody infrastructure, and Santander's Openbank followed with its own trading service.
Cecabank, a Spanish custodian with over €400bn under management that acts as backbone for more than 100 financial institutions, went live with crypto custody in June through a partnership with Bit2Me. In Germany, Deutsche Bank is building custody with Bitpanda's technology arm, while Taurus and DZ Bank got BaFin approval in January for their meinKrypto platform.
MiCA and the Qivalis stablecoin push
The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation gives banks a legal definition, a supervisor and a familiar set of obligations to launch crypto services. UniCredit is one of 37 lenders across 15 European countries working together on Qivalis, a consortium building a euro-denominated stablecoin. The consortium, which expanded from ten banks to 37 institutions, selected Fireblocks in April to provide infrastructure for tokenization, wallets and digital-asset lifecycle management, and is targeting the second half of 2026 for launch, pending authorization from the Dutch central bank.
UniCredit's earlier crypto steps
UniCredit is not new to digital assets. Last year, the bank offered professional clients a structured product tied to BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, with full protection against losses. It also issued Italy's first tokenized minibond on a public blockchain, according to Live Bitcoin News.
For now, UniCredit has not disclosed the technology providers under consideration, project costs or an implementation timeline.
Sources: Bitcoin Magazine, Live Bitcoin News
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