UniCredit Selecting Technology Partner for Crypto Custody, Trading, Tokenized Products

Italy's second-largest bank UniCredit is selecting a technology provider to build infrastructure for cryptocurrency custody, trading, and tokenized investment offerings, according to Bloomberg reporting cited by Bitcoin Magazine. The infrastructure will allow UniCredit to hold digital assets, facilitate buying and selling, and offer tokenized investment products and fixed-income securities, as well as stablecoin and cryptocurrency exposure to clients.

The move places UniCredit among a cohort of major European banks racing to launch regulated crypto services under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). MiCA provides banks with a legal definition of their obligations, regulatory oversight, and a familiar compliance pathway to offer crypto services.

Several European competitors have already moved ahead. Spain's BBVA rolled out bitcoin trading and custody to all customers via its app using its own custody infrastructure. Santander's Openbank followed with its own trading service. Cecabank, a Spanish custodian with over EUR 400 billion under management that acts as the backbone for more than 100 financial institutions, went live with crypto custody in June via a partnership with Bit2Me. Deutsche Bank is building custody with Bitpanda's technology arm, and Taurus and DZ Bank received BaFin approval in January for its meinKrypto platform.

UniCredit is not new to crypto exposure. The bank is one of 37 lenders across 15 European countries working together to create Qivalis, which aims to issue a euro-denominated stablecoin. Last year, UniCredit offered professional clients a structured product tied to BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund with full protection against losses.

The technology provider selection process signals UniCredit's intent to move from advisory products into direct custody and trading infrastructure. Whether the bank will build in-house like BBVA or outsource to a third-party partner like Deutsche Bank remains unrevealed in available reporting.

MiCA entered force in December 2023, giving European regulators and banks a unified framework for crypto-asset activities. The regulation covers custody, trading, and tokenization, creating a compliance roadmap that did not exist before.