Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, is working with Spanish banking giant BBVA to give customers a safer way to store their digital assets. According to the Financial Times, traders can now keep their funds with BBVA instead of leaving them on the Binance platform. This move is part of Binance’s efforts to rebuild trust after a $4 billion fine in 2023 and rising worries about the risks of keeping assets on crypto exchanges. Binance and BBVA Put a Shield Around Investors’ Funds Crypto investors have grown cautious since the collapse of FTX in 2022, which left billions of dollars locked in bankruptcy . The incident exposed the risks of keeping funds directly on trading platforms. Under this arrangement, BBVA, an independent custodian, will keep traders’ funds in the U.S. Treasuries. Binance will then accept these funds as trading margin. This structure separates custody from trading. This initiative is a common safeguard in traditional finance but is still rare in the crypto world. One person familiar with the deal said it is designed to prevent “a hypothetical FTX 2.0.” By keeping assets with a trusted bank instead of directly on an exchange, it creates a protective layer that shields investors if an exchange faces operational or financial trouble. BBVA Brings Big-Bank Credibility to Binance’s Crypto Push BBVA is a major Spanish and Latin American bank with strong international recognition, bringing significant credibility to the partnership with Binance. According to one source, the bank’s name alone can speed up the due diligence process for traders deciding whether to work with Binance. The bank has been steadily growing its crypto services. In July 2024, BBVA launched Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading and custody services. It has even advised wealthy clients to allocate 3% to 7% of their portfolios to cryptocurrencies. The Binance–BBVA deal signals growing cooperation between traditional banks and the crypto sector. Traditional banks are increasingly open to working with the crypto industry. This is supported by favorable U.S. policy under the Trump administration and the European Union’s new MiCA regulations. Part of a Larger Industry Shift This partnership is part of a larger trend among crypto exchanges to offer off-exchange custody solutions. In January 2024, Binance allowed larger clients to use independent custodians like Sygnum and FlowBank. Before that, clients could only store their assets on the Binance exchange or with its custody partner, Ceffu. Notably, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission described Ceffu as a “rebranded Binance entity.” Other major exchanges have taken similar steps. In February 2024, Deribit, which is set to be acquired by Coinbase , partnered with BitGo and Copper to let clients trade while keeping assets in qualified custody . In November 2024, OKX joined forces with Komainu to provide a similar service for institutional investors. The year before, Bitget integrated Copper’s ClearLoop network to support off-exchange trading. The post Binance Joins BBVA to Users’ Assets Safe Off Exchanges appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .
