Italy’s First MiCA Crypto Bank Arrives as Banca Sella Enters Digital Assets Market

Key Takeaways:

• Banca Sella was the first Italian bank to receive authorization to provide crypto services under the EU’s framework for crypto products and services, MiCA.
• The bank plans to launch crypto custody and transfer services for selected clients in 2026.
• Banca Sella is also part of Qivalis, a consortium of 37 European banks developing a euro-backed stablecoin.

Italy’s banking sector is officially entering the regulated crypto market. Banca Sella confirmed it has completed the notification process with the Bank of Italy, allowing it to become the country’s first bank authorized to provide crypto-related services under Europe’s MiCA regulations.

The move places Banca Sella among the earliest traditional banks in Europe to directly integrate digital asset services into regulated banking operations.

Banca Sella is set to launch crypto custody facilities and transfers over the course of 2026, starting with specific groups of clients. The bank, though, did not specify the complete set, but its announcement tended to focus mainly on secure digital asset infrastructure.

The bank tied the initiative to an overall shift in financial systems, particularly the growth of tokenization, programmable payments and blockchain settlement solutions.

Andrea Tessera, Managing Director of Digital Banking for Banca Sella, said “the launch marks Europe’s transition towards interoperable and digital financial infrastructure”.

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The launch marks the emergence of Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which is driving institutional crypto adoption in the region.

In contrast, the EU now has a common regulatory regime for crypto and banks to follow when operating throughout member countries, while the U.S. has still not seen a set of laws become cohesive.

For banks where financial monitoring is already in place, the MiCA process is relatively straightforward. Institutions must notify their regulators prior to their crypto services going live.

The same regulatory predictability is resulting in more European financial institutions taking a move towards digital assets, whereas most US financial institutions continue to wait and see as uncertainty lingers about the crypto legislation.

A positive reaction from Banca Sella could spur other Italian banks to take similar measures to advance their crypto plans, as tokenized finance and stablecoins gain momentum in Europe.

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Banca Sella has already been looking into the blockchain business for a few years now. The bank has been involved in experimental microtests sponsored by the Fintech Milano Hub from the Bank of Italy since 2022.

The lender is also a founding member of a group of 37 European banks leading the way with a $100 billion euro-backed stablecoin initiative called Qivalis.

The settlement system is gaining momentum across Europe among financial institutions that investigate blockchain-based transactions linked to regulated fiat currencies.

Meanwhile, Banca Sella revealed that it is keeping an eye on the tokenization-related projects launched by the European Central Bank and Eurosystem, such as those targeting the roadmap in programmable finance and the digital payments infrastructure.

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