BBVA will move its crypto custody service to Ripple-owned Metaco’s Harmonize.

BBVA Switzerland, one of the largest Spanish banks, has announced that Ripple-owned technology company Metaco will use the Harmonize platform for its crypto-protection work with institutional investors.

According to a press release published on December 7, BBVA, which has been providing Bitcoin and Ether protection since 2021, migrated its infrastructure to Harmonize for greater efficiency and security.

“In this environment, transaction verification is more efficient and crypto assets are held under the strictest security standards required by regulators.”

Harmonize will allow the bank to connect to blockchains other than Bitcoin and Ethereum, meaning it could expand BBVA's crypto services, the statement said.

“Trading on Harmonize opens the door for BBVA to offer new services in the future, such as trading other cryptocurrencies in addition to Bitcoin and Ether, or the ‘tokenization' of traditional assets.”

Cointelegraph has contacted Metaco for more details, but has yet to hear back.

Metaco launched Harmonize, an orchestration layer for digital asset applications, in 2021. Recently, another bank, HSBC, partnered with Metaco to integrate HSBC's new custody service for digital assets. Metaco's partnerships with major financial institutions include DZ Bank, Societe Generale and UnionBank. In May 2023, Metaco was acquired by Ripple for $250 million.

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The partnership between BBVA and Metaco began in 2021, when the technology firm helped BBVA Switzerland launch crypto custody and trading services for individual clients. Back then, BBVA became the first Tier-1 bank in the Eurozone to offer such services.

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