Alicia Pertusa affirms that BBVA is in a strategic position to integrate cryptocurrencies.
The banking sector is entering the “era of tokenization”, the entity maintains.
BBVA maintains that banking is going through changes driven by tokenization and a new regulatory framework that is beginning to be consolidated in Europe. The entity announced on December 16 that it considers the integration between traditional finance and the cryptocurrency ecosystem to be key to defining the next generation of financial services.
The diagnosis is based on the report titled “Annual Economic Report 2025” from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). According to this study, asset tokenization could become the axis of a new monetary architecture. BBVA points out that added to this is the entry into force of the MiCA Regulation (Cryptoactive Markets) in Europe and the sustained growth of stablecoins.
During the “Beyond Hype: crypto meets banking at BBVA” meeting, held in Madrid, executives highlighted the company’s role in the integration of traditional banking and cryptocurrencies.
Alicia Pertusa, director of product innovation and acceleration, stated that the entity is “in a strong position to bridge traditional finance and the ‘crypto’ ecosystem.”
Along the same lines, Samuel Martínez, senior digital asset manager, noted that the industry is entering “the era of tokenization,” a change that “will transform the way banks design and offer services.”
BBVA Spark, the unit specialized in supporting technology companies, has reinforced its role as a strategic partner of high-growth technology companies. The unit acts as a link between banking and emerging sectors, including cryptocurrencies, through a specialized proposal aimed at understanding the needs of this type of companies.
In a statement, the division express that An example of this strategy is the financing agreement signed in 2024 with Bit2Me for a million euros. Fernando Galea, growth manager at BBVA Spark, explained that the initiative was born to accompany innovative companies from their early stages to their expansion. Furthermore, he noted: “Today we are here to demonstrate that collaboration between banking and the crypto industry is possible.”
Galea also moderated a roundtable on the challenges of scaling in the industry, a sector marked by rapid technological evolution and constant adaptation to new regulatory frameworks. Andrei Manuel, co-founder of Bit2Me, participated in the debate; Catriona Wingate, head of banking for Europe, Asia and Pacific at BVNK; and Kaushik Sthankiya, head of banking at Kraken.
The path to integrated financial services
Executives agreed that sustainable growth involves prioritizing solid products within regulated environments. Wingate highlighted that BVNK, a platform that provides infrastructure for stablecoins, developed its proposal “as if the regulation already existed.” He also warned about fragmentation between the fiat and cryptocurrency ecosystems, which makes interoperability difficult.
According to consultancies like BCG, tokenization of financial assets could reach 16 trillion dollars in 2030which projects a deeper integration between traditional and cryptocurrency systems.
Beyond infrastructure, participants highlighted the importance of trust. Wingate highlighted that a large part of his work consists of helping financial institutions understand how analyzing cryptoasset networks allows them to make safer and more transparent decisions.
For his part, Sthankiya, from the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, explained that Collaboration with banks must work both waysallowing everything from the issuance of stablecoins to the provision of digital asset services under the bank’s identity.
Andrei Manuel, from Bit2Me, concluded the meeting by assuring that “in the next ten years, banks will launch a unified wallet – regulated, secure and capable of hosting cryptocurrencies, stocks and real assets -, allowing instant global transfers.”
“The question is not if it will happen, but on what platform and under what security and compliance standards,” stated the spokesperson for the cryptocurrency exchange.
In 2025, BBVA has strengthened its presence in the digital finance sector. As reported by CriptoNoticias, in July the bank launched a service that allows its clients in Spain to buy, sell and store bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) directly from its mobile app.