Bankinter, one of Spain’s well-established banks, took a remarkable step in the European financial world by partnering with a minority stake in the cryptocurrency exchange Bit2Me. The investment took place as part of a 30 million euro investment round that was completed in August 2025 and also included Tether. Madrid-based Bit2Me stands out with its MiCA registration, which provides operating permission throughout the European Union, and strengthened its goal of building a bridge between traditional banks and cryptocurrency infrastructures. The development stood out as a new example showing that the approach to crypto in the banking sector has evolved from competition to cooperation.
Framework of the Bankinter–Bit2Me Partnership
In the statement made by Bankinter, it was emphasized that the investment aims to create information and technology synergies focused on distributed ledger technology. Although details about the share ratio and financial terms were not shared, the agreement strengthened Bit2Me’s capital structure and provided corporate support for its regulation-compliant growth strategy. Instead of entering the cryptocurrency market directly, Bankinter preferred to work with a licensed and regulated infrastructure provider.
This investment round further expanded Bit2Me’s already strong investor base. The company’s supporters include BBVA, Unicaja and Cecabank. This table reveals that Spain-based banks entered the cryptocurrency market with a controlled and partnership-based approach.
Bit2Me CFO Pablo Casadío described the Bankinter investment as an indication that banks prefer integration over competition. According to Casadío, banks aim to develop their own products and services faster by acquiring technical expertise in the cryptocurrency industry from outside.
MiCA, Corporate Infrastructure and Regional Initiative
Bit2Me is among the first companies to be registered under Markets in Crypto-Assets, the European Union’s Crypto-Asset Markets Regulation. This status allows the company to operate with a single license across Europe and significantly reduces compliance risk for banks. The company positions itself as a B2B gateway serving banks and financial institutions rather than individual investors.
Over the last 18 months, Bit2Me’s integration with traditional finance has accelerated significantly. The company, which provides back-end cryptocurrency services for Garanti BBVA in Türkiye, has also established a common platform covering custody and trading infrastructure together with Cecabank. All these moves are considered as concrete indicators of the regulation-compliant growth target in markets such as Latin America and Türkiye.
Bit2Me, which received investment with a share exceeding 5 percent through Unicaja Ventures in July 2024 and included a bank representative on the board of directors, further strengthened its corporate legitimacy with its partnership with Bankinter. For European banking, the picture reveals that it is preferable to move forward with licensed technology providers rather than entering the crypto markets as direct competitors.
