Spanish bank Bankinter has taken a minority stake in Spanish cryptocurrency exchange Bit2Me, joining stablecoin issuer Tether and other investors as traditional banks deepen their ties to the digital asset industry.
The investment, announced Wednesday, makes Bankinter the latest large financial institution to back Bit2Me following the exchange’s 30 million euros ($34.9 million) funding round announced in August. That round included Tether and Spain’s BBVA, and was aimed at supporting Bit2Me’s expansion across Spain and the wider European Union.
The scope of the investments is to “achieve technological and knowledge synergies,” while supporting Bit2Me’s fintech expansion throughout Spain and the European Union, Bankinter said.
The $34 million investment round is significant among European crypto exchanges. It ranks as the fourth-largest publicly-announced raise behind Austrian crypto platform Bitpanda’s previous three investment rounds of $263 million, $170 million and $52 million, respectively.
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Bit2Me became the first Spanish-speaking fintech to receive authorization from Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) as a crypto-asset service provider under the European Markets In Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) in July 2025.
“This alliance confirms that banks can take advantage of our deep know-how in the sector to enhance their offer,” wrote Pablo Casadío, chief financial officer at Bit2Me. “Instead of competing, we integrate strengths.”
He added that Bit2Me’s “technological and regulatory solidity” makes it an ideal partner for large financial entities seeking to capitalize on the emerging crypto ecosystem.
Cointelegraph reached out to Bankinter and Bit2Me for comments on the details of the investment deal, but had not received a response by publication.
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TradFi banks are entering the crypto industry worldwide
Bankinter’s Bit2Me investment follows a wave of large investment banks entering the cryptocurrency space with various offerings.
On Monday, British multinational bank Standard Chartered was reported to be exploring the launch of a crypto prime brokerage platform in its latest foray into crypto.
A week earlier, investment banking giant Morgan Stanley filed to launch an Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF), marking its third crypto ETF filing.
Days earlier, on Jan. 5, the second-largest US bank, Bank of America, approved four spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs for recommendation through its 15,000 wealth advisers.
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