Crypto-powered banking platform BVNK secures Spanish digital asset registration

Crypto-powered payments and banking platform BVNK has secured registration from the Bank of Spain as a virtual asset services provider as it looks to expand across the European Union and beyond.

BVNK secures digital asset registration in Spain

BVNK says unlike the “outmoded technology” used by conventional payment services, running international payments on digitally-native crypto rails delivers a number of “commercial advantages”, such as lower fees, reduced settlement times and simplified fund management across multiple jurisdictions.

BVNK CEO Jesse Hemson-Struthers says cross-border payments made via BVNK’s platform are up to “five times faster” than using Swift, with fees cut by up to 80%.

“We are aggressively building out licensing and infrastructure to make it easier and faster for more customers to enjoy these wins.

“Gaining the Spanish registration, and growing our footprint in the EU, are important milestones in our drive to become the ‘go to’ crypto-enabled payments platform for global business.” Hemson-Struthers adds.

BVNK secured a $40 million Series A investment round in May which valued the fintech at $340 million. In the last year, the firm has also built out its workforce, expanding its headcount from 40 to 160 with plans to increase that further to 250 over the next 12 months in order to support its ongoing work with regulators in other markets.

BVNK’s chief legal, risk and compliance officer, Maximilian von Both says: “At BVNK, we’re readying ourselves for a regulated future in which businesses switch seamlessly between fiat and crypto currencies.”

Over 2022, BVNK says it has processed “billions” in annualised payment volume, with the BVNK business account supporting more than 100 cryptocurrencies and digital assets and embeds Know Your Customer (KYC), anti-money laundering (AML) measures into its core operations.