Banca Sella, a fintech-forward private bank managing €50 billion in assets and serving over 3.1 million customers, announced it is the first Italian lender to receive approval from the Bank of Italy under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. After a formal 40-day notification process, the bank is cleared to offer digital asset custody, transfer, and receipt services to selected clients later this year. The corporate-facing infrastructure will leverage a compliance partnership with blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis and an internal digital asset pilot initially built with Fireblocks. Banca Sella joins about 20 major European banks offering crypto services under MiCA, including Germany's Commerzbank and LBBW, France's Société Générale FORGE, and Spain's BBVA. The bank is also a founder of Qivalis, a group of 37 European banks aiming to issue a euro-denominated stablecoin this year, and participates in EU tokenization projects like Pontes and Appia to bolster financial autonomy.

Key facts

• First Italian bank to secure MiCA crypto license from Bank of Italy.
• Offers custody, transfer, and receipt of digital assets to selected clients.
• Partners with Chainalysis for compliance; uses Fireblocks for internal pilot.
• Joins ~20 major European banks offering crypto services under MiCA.
• Founder of Qivalis group planning euro-denominated stablecoin issuance.

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