Key Takeaways
Santander’s digital bank Openbank now offers Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Polygon, and Cardano trading to German clients.
The launch operates under the EU’s MiCA framework, with a Spain rollout planned in the coming weeks.
The move places Santander among Europe’s largest lenders accelerating retail crypto services.
Openbank Adds Crypto Trading in Germany
Openbank, the fully digital banking arm of Grupo Santander, has launched crypto trading services in Germany, allowing customers to buy, sell, and hold five major tokens — Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Polygon (MATIC), and Cardano (ADA) — directly on its platform.
The new service integrates crypto alongside Openbank’s existing investment products and eliminates the need for third-party platforms. It is designed to comply with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which is gradually coming into force.
Coty de Monteverde, head of crypto at Grupo Santander, said the offering was introduced in response to growing client demand.
Expansion to Spain and Beyond
The bank confirmed that Spain will be the next market to receive the service in the coming weeks, alongside additional token listings and crypto-to-crypto conversions.
Openbank currently serves more than 2 million clients across Spain, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, the US, and Mexico. Parent company Santander is one of Europe’s largest banks, with 175 million customers in over 40 countries.
Santander’s Crypto Footprint
This isn’t Santander’s first step into digital assets. In 2018, it launched One Pay FX, a Ripple-powered app enabling same-day international transfers across Spain, the UK, Brazil, and Poland. More recently, the bank has explored stablecoin issuance and retail-facing crypto services.
Germany’s Banking Sector Races Into Crypto
Santander joins a growing wave of German banks entering the crypto market under MiCA:
DZ Bank, the country’s second-largest lender, launched a crypto pilot in 2024 across 700 cooperative banks.
Deutsche Bank will begin a digital asset custody service in 2026 in partnership with Bitpanda and Taurus, and is weighing a stablecoin launch.
Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, which serves nearly 50 million customers, plans to integrate retail crypto trading by mid-2026 via its Sparkasse app.
Similar trends are emerging in the United States, where JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Bank of America are preparing to issue stablecoins and expand digital asset offerings following the passage of the GENIUS Act in July 2025.
