Banca Sella, an Italian bank, has received the relevant approval from the Bank of Italy under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) to roll out crypto asset services. In the initial phase, the services will not be available to retail customers but will instead be offered to selected corporate and institutional clients, including custody and transfer services, with a planned launch by the end of 2026.
The approved scope is limited to custody and transfers.
This approval allows Banca Sella to offer cryptocurrency asset custody, receipt, and transfer services under the MiCA framework. According to current disclosures, the bank’s initial focus will be on safeguarding digital assets for clients and facilitating transfers between compliant accounts.
Currently, Banca Sella has not announced any plans to directly offer cryptocurrency buying and selling services. This means its initial focus is more on infrastructure and custody services rather than a retail-facing trading platform.
Priority in the first phase is given to enterprise and institutional clients.
The bank stated that services will initially prioritize selected customer groups, with corporate and institutional clients expected to be first in line. This approach helps manage initial operational risks and better aligns with institutions' needs for compliant custody and clearing processes when entering the digital asset market.
- Services: Custody, Receipt, and Transfer
- Customer Type: Selected Corporate and Institutional Clients
- Launch time: Expected by the end of 2026
For institutional investors and enterprises, regulated custodial services are often a prerequisite for allocating digital assets. In addition to asset custody, clear transfer and settlement processes are essential components for business implementation.
MiCA provides banks with a clearer path to entry.
The report states that Banca Sella has completed the notification procedure related to the Bank of Italy. Under MiCA rules, banks can proceed with crypto asset services through a notification pathway, which typically offers a clearer entry route compared to non-bank crypto companies.
In the European market, the implementation of MiCA is bringing crypto asset services under a unified legal framework. For traditional banks, this helps reduce regulatory uncertainty and makes it easier to integrate services such as custody, transfers, and digital settlement into existing systems.
Sella Bank’s actions also reflect the common path European banks take to enter the digital assets market. Rather than directly launching highly volatile trading products, many banks prefer to first build infrastructure related to custody, settlement, and tokenization.
Additional information: The report also notes that Banca Sella is one of the founding members of Qivalis. The alliance, comprising 37 banking members, is advancing a euro stablecoin project. Banca Sella previously participated in the Bank of Italy’s 2022 Fintech Milano Hub pilot project.