Cecabank Starts MiCA Passporting for Services in Three EU Markets
The Spanish bank is extending its institutional crypto custody plans to Luxembourg, Ireland and Portugal after launching the service in May 2026.
Cecabank has begun the process of passporting its MiCA-authorized crypto-asset services from Spain into Luxembourg, Ireland and Portugal, expanding its planned institutional custody footprint across Europe.
The Spanish bank launched its crypto-asset custody platform for financial institutions in May 2026. The service is designed for institutions that offer customers the ability to buy and sell crypto assets, while Bit2Me provides trade execution support.
Spain’s Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores authorized Cecabank in July 2025 to provide crypto-asset custody, order reception and transmission, and crypto-asset transfer services under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA. The platform initially supported Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and USD Coin (USDC).
The passporting process does not establish that Cecabank’s services are already live in the three target markets. Passporting allows an authorized provider in one European Union jurisdiction to extend approved services into other participating markets after completing the required regulatory process.
Cecabank has operated a branch in Luxembourg since January 2025. The move adds to its work on European digital-asset infrastructure, including custody, trading connectivity and tokenized-money initiatives.
“At Cecabank, we are building a bridge between traditional financial infrastructures and the new tokenized economy,” Cecabank CEO Ainhoa Jáuregui said.
Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier ended the European Union transition period for virtual-asset service providers on July 1, 2026. Providers must hold authorization as crypto-asset service providers to continue operating.
Cecabank also joined Qivalis in May 2026. The consortium comprises 37 financial institutions from 15 European countries and is developing a fully regulated euro-denominated stablecoin backed 1:1 by euros.
Qivalis is seeking authorization as an electronic-money institution from De Nederlandsche Bank and plans to launch commercially in the second half of 2026. Both milestones remain planned rather than completed.
The expansion follows broader regulatory scrutiny of custody infrastructure in Europe, including an ESMA review of resilience at authorized crypto firms. Cecabank’s strategy combines custody, trading connectivity, tokenized-money initiatives and participation in European financial-infrastructure projects.
