Several international platforms, such as Revolut, Bitpanda, Crypto.com and Vivid, have joined the list of registered crypto providers in Spain in 2023.
The official registry of licensed crypto providers published as an Excel document on the website of Spain’s central bank states that 30 companies were granted a virtual asset service provider license in the country in 2023.
That means that the number of crypto companies officially allowed to operate in Spain grew by about 56% this year. The registration started only in 2022. In that initial year, 53 firms rushed to gain national registration. Despite a lesser number added this year, the license applications remain active.
Moreover, some global players like Revolut, Bitpanda, Crypto.com and Vivid have obtained Spanish registration in 2023. Nevertheless, local companies still dominate the national market, currently holding 61 licenses out of 85.
Some major industry players are still not on the list, though. For instance, Coinbase registered with the Bank of Spain back in September. The registration as a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian wallet provider will allow Coinbase to offer a full suite of products and services to retail and institutional users in Spain. The firm has also recently secured an Anti-Money Laundering compliance registration. Nevertheless, the provider still hasn’t got a full virtual asset service provider (VASP) license in the country.
Coinbase finds Spain as a prospective market. According to the firm’s data, cryptocurrencies are now the second most popular payment method in Spain, with 60.7% of Spanish citizens motivated to buy cryptocurrencies for long-term investments, and 35.7% to make payments. Embracing cryptocurrencies in Spain is much easier now when MiCA legislation was introduced by European Union policymakers.
Local regulators are proactive with the crypto legislation. Recently, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation announced that it would implement the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation six months before the deadline. Trading crypto in a transparently regulated environment gives more confidence to both consumers and crypto service providers.
