Binance has entered an arrangement with Spanish bank BBVA to allow customers to store their digital assets outside the cryptocurrency exchange.
The move aims to improve options for asset safety, according to reporting by the Financial Times. Under the new structure, BBVA holds client funds in US Treasury securities, which Binance then accepts as collateral for trading. This custody setup is intended to reduce counterparty risk and provide greater reassurance to investors.
Binance’s introduction of BBVA into its custody network comes as the exchange expands its use of traditional financial institutions. Earlier this year, it began permitting independent custodians, such as Switzerland’s Sygnum and FlowBank, to safeguard assets, following criticism over earlier reliance on internal or opaque mechanisms.
Regulatory context and institutional confidence
Representatives from BBVA declined to comment on particular client relationships but highlighted the bank’s growing involvement in the crypto space. They have previously enabled access to bitcoin and ether trading via their mobile platform and have advised private banking clients to allocate up to 7% of their portfolios into digital assets.
The shift toward bank-based custody reflects broader efforts by exchanges to shore up trust in an environment marked by regulatory scrutiny. Binance itself paid a considerable USD 4.3 billion fine in the United States for anti-money-laundering lapses, and its chief executive served a sentence earlier this year. The company has since reinstated some services in markets where regulators have softened their stance.
Analysts say that involving established banks such as BBVA may help bridge the gap between institutional standards and the crypto ecosystem, particularly in light of past failures such as the FTX collapse.
