tl;dr
KBC Bank, a major Belgian financial institution, plans to enable its customers to invest in cryptocurrencies through its Bolero online platform, offering Bitcoin and Ether later this year. KBC is seeking recognition as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider by autumn to provide a secure, regulated investme...
KBC Bank, one of Belgium’s largest financial institutions, is preparing to allow its customers to invest in cryptocurrencies through its Bolero subsidiary. Bolero, an online investment platform operated by KBC, will roll out access to Bitcoin and Ether investments later this year, KBC confirmed. Currently, an analysis is underway for KBC to be recognized as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) by autumn, which would enable private investors to invest directly in Bitcoin and Ether within a trusted framework emphasizing education, security, and regulatory compliance.
If the rollout proceeds as planned, KBC would become the first major Belgian bank to offer crypto services to retail customers. Up till now, Belgian customers have typically used foreign crypto exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and OKX or crypto-friendly investment apps such as Revolut and N26 to access the market.
KBC’s move is part of a broader trend of European banks increasingly moving into crypto investment and custody products. For example, German banks Deutsche Bank and Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe reportedly plan to debut crypto offerings soon. Spain’s BBVA has already advised its affluent clients to allocate up to 7% of their investment portfolios to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
This ongoing banking push into cryptocurrency investments has been anticipated by industry experts. Earlier this year, executives at Messari and Sygnum predicted many banks would enter the crypto space in the second half of 2025 amid favorable global crypto regulations. Meanwhile, conversations between fintech companies like Stripe and banking institutions indicate growing interest in experimenting with stablecoins, signaling growing mainstream adoption.