Santander Eyes Crypto Play with Stablecoin—Because Traditional Banking Was Too Profitable

Spain’s banking giant flirts with blockchain—just as regulators start sharpening their knives.

Stablecoin or Stable-boring?

The 166-year-old institution wants a piece of the digital asset action. No word yet on whether their token will peg to the euro or to bureaucratic red tape.

Late to the Party

While fintech startups built DeFi empires, Santander was busy charging overdraft fees. Now they’ll need to convince crypto natives that a bank-backed stablecoin isn’t an oxymoron.

Watch this space—or don’t. Your call.

Major banks embrace crypto

The growing trend sees banks increasingly warming to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology for the benefit of both institutional and retail customers. Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered, and BBVA are among those exploring various crypto adoption strategies. Also making inroads at a rapid pace are Bank of America, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup.

Standard Chartered recently strengthened its crypto footprint through a key partnership with crypto prime broker FalconX. The strategic partnership will see Standard Chartered offer its banking services to FalconX users.

While still a crypto skeptic, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive officer of U.S. banking and investment giant JPMorgan, recently said that the bank will allow its clients to buy Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s most popular and widely adopted digital asset.

In January 2025, Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick revealed that the bank was ready to work with U.S. regulators as it looks to expand its crypto involvement. The wealth management behemoth is eyeing crypto trading and was the first major bank in the U.S to bring bitcoin funds to its high-net worth clients in 2021. 

Barclays Bank disclosed a $131 million investment in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Meanwhile, Santander’s crypto and blockchain traction includes asset tokenization and crypto custody services.