Spain’s Largest Bank Banco Santander Kicks Off Retail Crypto Trading in Germany, Spain to Follow

Banco Santander’s Openbank debuts crypto trading in Germany, expanding soon to Spain and the EU. | Credit: Getty Images.

Key Takeaways

Banco Santander, Spain’s largest bank, has launched retail crypto trading in Germany via its digital arm, Openbank. The service allows users to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, MATIC, and Cardano, with more assets to follow. A rollout in Spain is planned by the end of the month, with EU expansion set for later this year.

Banco Santander, Spain’s biggest bank and the fourth largest in Europe, has taken a decisive step into digital assets by offering retail crypto trading through its online banking subsidiary, Openbank.

The move makes Santander one of the first major European banks to give its customers direct access to crypto alongside traditional investments.

Germany First, Spain and the EU Next

The rollout began on Sept. 16 for Openbank users in Germany.

Customers can now buy, sell, and hold a select list of cryptocurrencies — including Bitcoin (BTC),Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Polygon (POL), and Cardano (ADA) — directly from the Openbank app and investment platform.

Additional tokens are expected to be added in the coming months.

The integration means retail clients can manage crypto trades seamlessly alongside stocks, ETFs, and investment funds, without relying on third-party exchanges.

Santander plans to extend the service to Spain by the end of September, with an EU-wide rollout scheduled shortly thereafter.

Openbank, headquartered in Madrid, serves more than 2 million clients across Spain, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, the U.S., and Mexico.

EU Banks Accelerate Crypto Adoption

Santander’s move reflects a broader trend among European banks racing to meet demand for regulated crypto services.

Germany, in particular, has become a hotbed of banking-led crypto adoption:

DZ Bank, Germany’s second-largest bank, launched a crypto pilot in 2024 across 700 cooperative banks. Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe is preparing to roll out crypto trading to around 50 million customers by 2026 via its DekaBank arm. Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are building custody and tokenization platforms for digital assets.

The regulatory framework provided by the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation has spurred this wave of adoption.

While Spain has issued only three MiCA licenses so far — including one to Santander — the framework is gradually pushing more banks to integrate crypto into their retail offerings.

By combining its size, regulatory backing, and digital-first Openbank platform, Santander is positioning itself at the forefront of Europe’s transition to regulated crypto banking.

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