Europe's top digital bank Openbank launches Bitcoin, Ether, Cardano trading for retail clients

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Openbank, the digital arm of Banco Santander, announced Tuesday it has launched crypto trading for retail investors in Germany. Clients can now buy and sell Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Polygon, and Cardano on the same platform they use for other investments.

The bank, one of Europe’s leading digital lenders, said it will add more crypto assets in the coming months and extend the service to Spanish customers in the coming weeks. It is also planning new features such as crypto-to-crypto conversions.

Coty de Monteverde, Head of Crypto at Grupo Santander, said in a statement that bringing top crypto assets onto their platform is part of an effort to diversify products and respond to client needs.

“By incorporating the main cryptocurrencies into our investment platform, we are responding to the demand of some of our customers and continue to strengthen a broad range of products and services through an agile, simple technology platform backed by one of the world’s leading financial groups,” she noted.

The move follows reports in May that Santander was exploring wider retail crypto services, including a stablecoin project. The effort could involve creating a new token or hosting existing stablecoins pegged to the euro or US dollar.

To facilitate retail crypto services, Santander’s digital banking subsidiary, Openbank, has sought licenses under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. Today’s rollout comes after the full implementation of the EU’s MiCA regulation.

The bank will charge a 1.49% fee on trades, with a minimum of €1 ($1.18) per transaction, and no custody fees.

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