Crypto is reshaping Europe’s financial core
Crypto is no longer a sideshow, it’s entering Europe’s financial core
Just a few years ago, most financial institutions viewed cryptocurrencies as a purely speculative investment or a threat to classical investments. In 2025, cryptocurrencies are entering Europe’s financial infrastructures.
The trends that we are seeing across Europe
Tokenizing funds
Euro-pegged stablecoins
Digital Euro pilots
Bitcoin entering corporate treasuries
This isn’t hype, but rather an early transformation of our financial system.
Here is how banks, asset managers, and central banks in Europe are embracing blockchain and crypto. Not just only as assets, but as structural shift.
From scepticism to strategy
While in 2017, Larry Finck - BlackRock CEO, stated that Bitcoin was an “index of money laundering”, 7 years later, in January 2024, BlackRock launched its Bitcoin ETF, a symbolic turning point in the sector’s mindset.
The question is no longer whether crypto matters, but rather how it is being integrated. While most institutions remain cautious about volatile tokens, many are already investing in blockchain technology.
How Europe's financial giants are deploying blockchain technology
BNP Paribas Asset Management
Issued a tokenised money market fund via Allfunds Blockchain
Results : lower errors, reduced costs and faster settlement via automated execution of the transactions
Société Générale (SG Forge)
Launched a euro-pegged stablecoin on Ethereum
Results: enabled 24/7 programmable payments in euros and tokenised assets used for settling trades, sending money
European Central Bank (ECB)
Launched the Digital Euro project and innovation platform in 2024–25 to design a retail CBDC, a digital currency
It involved nearly 70 market participants including banks, fintech’s & retailers simulating real-world scenarios like programmable payments, offline wallets, and direct P2P euro transfers
Why it matters: money would become programmable (e.g. funds automatically paid) and the public authorities are embracing blockchain technology in an era of private tokenization.
European institutions embracing cryptos
Crypto adoption is also moving into the balance sheets and client offerings of European banks :
Intesa Sanpaolo (Italy) : bought $1M worth of Bitcoin (11 BTC) in 2025, a signal of rising confidence in BTC as a treasury asset
CaixaBank (Spain) : ️preparing retail crypto services for clients, like access to Bitcoin and other major tokens as part of the banking app
BBVA Switzerland : offering crypto advisory and portfolio management for some clients, recommending 3-7% exposure to Bitcoin and Ether as a diversified and alternative asset class
KBC : Plan to allow end of the year crypto trading (Bitcoin & Ether) on its platform Bolero, a major shift for crypto in Belgium
Growing demand, but Belgium lags behind
Global demand is booming:
660M crypto users at the end of 2024
Projected to reach 950M by end of 2025 (+44% growth in just one year)
60% of holders are aged 18–34
... but Belgian institutions remain cautious
Currently no bank offers crypto trading, custody, or portfolios management in Belgium but adoption might speed up with the announcement of KBC
MiCA is in place, but few players have acted on it
What's next?
The next posts will dive into the regulatory framework, but the message is clear : the market is maturing and MiCA opens the door for licensed crypto services to build new digital products for tomorrow’s clients.
