Can I Buy Bitcoin with BBVA?
BBVA customers can buy Bitcoin through the app or send euros to a MiCA-authorised exchange. Since July 2025, all adult retail customers can buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin and Ether in the app, following its MiCA notification to the CNMV. BBVA runs its own crypto desk and treats exchange transfers as ordinary payments.
We use exchanges. BBVA does not block payments to MiCA-authorised platforms, but its €1,000 instant transfer cap stopped our €2,500 SEPA Instant payment from a Cuenta Online. A €10,000 ordinary SEPA transfer arrived the next business morning without a call from the bank.
The app suits small, occasional buys, with the first purchase commission-free. Its fee schedule then charges 1.49% per trade and no custody fee, but transferring coins out requires a request to BBVA and costs 4% of their euro value. Bybit charges 0.10% for spot trading and only the network fee for withdrawals to your own wallet.
BBVA's In-App Crypto Service and the Bitcoin ETN
BBVA offers two Bitcoin products, each with limits to consider before committing real money.
To use the direct service, open the app's cryptoassets section, register, and confirm that you have read the risk documents. You can then buy Bitcoin or Ether alongside your funds and shares. BBVA holds the private keys using custody technology developed in house. It provides no advice and requires biometric login on your device. More than a year after launch, the asset selection still consists of Bitcoin and Ether.
The Fidelity Physical Bitcoin ETN is the second option. Issued by Fidelity Exchange Traded Products GmbH, this note was added to BBVA's securities platform after registration with the CNMV under the EU passport. Bitcoin held in custody backs the note one-for-one, and trading follows Frankfurt Stock Exchange hours.
Before placing an order, you must pass a MiFID suitability test, the EU questionnaire that checks your understanding of the product. Costs include BBVA's brokerage commission and the note's annual fee. You never own Bitcoin directly.
Neither product supports staking, altcoins, stablecoins, or withdrawals to a personal wallet. If you need any of these, use the bank to fund a purchase on an exchange.
How to Buy Crypto with BBVA
Sending euros from BBVA to Bybit is the cheapest way to buy crypto you can hold yourself. Bybit EU is MiCA-licensed in Austria and serves Spanish customers through the EU passport. BBVA therefore handles the transfer as it would any payment to a supervised firm.
Steps to buy crypto with BBVA:
- Open and verify a Bybit account: Register on Bybit and complete identity checks (KYC). You will need your DNI, NIE, or passport, plus proof of address. Spanish residents join through Bybit EU GmbH, the Vienna entity.
- Copy the EUR deposit details: Choose Deposit in Bybit, select EUR, then SEPA. Copy the IBAN and beneficiary name along with the reference code. The receiving account belongs to Bybit EU GmbH; the reference lets Bybit match the payment to your account.
- Check your BBVA transfer limits: BBVA's standard digital limits are €15,000 per operation and €30,000 per day for ordinary transfers. Instant payments have lower caps of €1,000 per operation and €5,000 per day. The app lets you raise the instant per-operation cap to the daily limit for one transfer, after which it resets.
- Send the transfer: Add Bybit EU GmbH as a new beneficiary, copying the IBAN and reference exactly. Every SEPA payment has required a Verification of Payee check since October 2025. This compares the beneficiary name with the account holder, so enter the full legal name. Approve the payment with your BBVA app signature.
- Place your order: Once the euros appear in your Bybit balance, open BTC/EUR or another market and place a limit order. One-click buy adds a spread to the quoted price, making a limit order cheaper for anything beyond a small test purchase.
BBVA may pause a first transfer to a new beneficiary and send an app notification asking you to confirm it. Responding there releases the payment.
Fees and Transfer Limits for BBVA Customers
Euro transfers from BBVA to an exchange are free. Purchase costs come from the exchange, while BBVA's instant transfer cap determines how much you can send at once.
BBVA costs and limits
- Ordinary SEPA transfer: Free through the app or bbva.es, with arrival the next business day. Your manager or Línea BBVA can approve limits above the standard €15,000 per operation and €30,000 per day. These increases last two days.
- SEPA Instant: Free and delivered in seconds, with caps of €1,000 per operation and €5,000 per day. These are among Spain's tightest limits, according to OCU's comparison. Santander, CaixaBank, and Sabadell allow €15,000.
- Bizum: Payments go to a phone number and are capped at €1,000 per send. An exchange must accept Bizum as a merchant for this method to work, as Bit2Me does.
- Verification of Payee: Every euro transfer has required this check since October 2025. A mismatch between the beneficiary name and IBAN holder triggers a warning and can block payment.
- Card deposits: Most exchanges accept BBVA debit and credit cards, but their card gateways add 1.5% to 3.5%. We use cards only for a first test deposit.
- Anti-money-laundering checks: Supervised by the Banco de España, BBVA reports to Spain's anti-money-laundering authority, SEPBLAC, under Ley 10/2010. An incoming exchange payment above roughly €10,000 can trigger a source-of-funds request. Exchange statements and your prior tax return usually resolve it quickly.
- Deposit protection: The Fondo de Garantía de Depósitos covers euros in a BBVA account up to €100,000. As BBVA's risk notice states, this protection does not extend to crypto bought in its app or on an exchange.
Bybit fees
- SEPA deposit: Free.
- Spot trading: Entry-tier fees are 0.10% for makers and takers, falling with 30-day volume.
- One-click buy: A spread is included in the quoted price. Use the order book for purchases above a test amount.
- Crypto withdrawal: Network fee only. Withdrawing USDT on Tron and most low-cost networks costs well under a euro.
- EUR withdrawal by SEPA: Free or subject to a small flat fee. The money usually reaches your BBVA account the next business day.
Spanish tax on crypto
- Capital gains: Profits from crypto sales and swaps are taxed as savings income under IRPF, Spain's personal income tax. Rates start at 19% on the first €6,000 and reach 30% on gains above €300,000. Every crypto-to-crypto swap is a disposal.
- Modelo 721: If coins held with providers outside Spain have a combined value above €50,000 on 31 December, you must declare them on the informational return for foreign virtual currencies. This includes holdings with Austria's Bybit EU GmbH. Bitcoin in the BBVA app does not count because the bank reports those holdings directly to the Agencia Tributaria through Modelo 172 and 173.
- DAC8: MiCA-licensed exchanges have collected identity and transaction data since 1 January under this EU tax-data directive. The information is shared automatically with the Agencia Tributaria, so your filings should match Bybit's records.
For a €5,000 purchase, BBVA charges nothing to transfer the money and Bybit spot trading costs about €5. Buying the same amount in BBVA's app costs €74.50, followed by another €200 if you later ask the bank to transfer the coins out.
Best Exchanges for BBVA Customers
Only MiCA-authorised firms have been allowed to serve Spanish residents since 1 July. This took Binance out of the market after it withdrew its Greek application. All the platforms below hold live authorisations and accept euro deposits from BBVA accounts.
Of these exchanges, only Bit2Me accepts Bizum. It is useful for purchases under €1,000 without using your transfer limits. For more detail on each platform's Spanish service, see our best crypto exchanges in Spain guide.
BBVA Cryptocurrency Policy
By selling and holding crypto directly, BBVA differs from most Spanish banks. The CNMV cleared its notification in March 2025. BBVA entered the European MiCA register through the notification route for credit institutions rather than obtaining a standalone licence. It had tightened checks on some exchange transfers in 2022, then reversed that approach as the EU rulebook developed.
Spain is the group's third crypto market and its first under MiCA. BBVA Switzerland has offered private banking clients Bitcoin, Ether, and USDC custody and trading since 2021. In Turkey, Garanti BBVA operates a retail crypto platform with a broader asset list. Santander's digital arm responded with a wider selection, covered in our Openbank guide.
The regulatory position for customers is now settled. MiCA has applied to crypto services since 30 December 2024, and Law 6/2023 assigns the CNMV responsibility for supervising Spain's exchanges and custodians. The transitional period for pre-MiCA firms ended on 1 July 2026. Any exchange still serving Spanish residents must hold an authorisation or is operating unlawfully. We track authorised providers in our list of MiCA-licensed exchanges.
About BBVA
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria traces its origins to Banco de Bilbao, founded in 1857. Its headquarters remain in Bilbao, while Ciudad BBVA in Madrid houses its operating centre. With more than 80 million customers across 25 countries and around €860 billion in assets, the group is Spain's second-largest bank behind Santander. Its biggest markets outside Spain are Mexico, Turkey, and South America.
BBVA's attempt to acquire Banco Sabadell dominated the past two years. The hostile offer collapsed in October 2025 after holders tendered only 25.33% of Sabadell shares. BBVA then redirected the capital towards buybacks and dividends. Sabadell remains independent, with its exchange payment rules covered in our Sabadell guide.
Spanish retail customers use the BBVA app and bbva.es. Core accounts include Cuenta Online Sin Comisiones and Cuenta Nómina, alongside Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards. Customers also have access to a securities platform for stocks and ETFs, plus the cryptoasset service. The European Central Bank supervises BBVA under the Single Supervisory Mechanism, together with the Banco de España. The CNMV oversees its crypto and securities activity.
Final Thoughts
BBVA customers have three ways to buy Bitcoin, depending on whether they want to own coins or simply track the price. The app is convenient for a first €100 purchase and suits customers who will never move their coins. Investors who want Bitcoin exposure alongside their shares and accept a management fee can use the Fidelity ETN. For everyone else, sending euros to an exchange is the better option.
We recommend Bybit for its MiCA licence passported into Spain and free SEPA deposits. Spot trades cost 0.10%, and coins can be withdrawn to any wallet.
Before your first deposit, raise the €1,000 instant per-operation cap or send an ordinary SEPA transfer the day before you plan to trade. Enter Bybit EU GmbH exactly as the beneficiary. Keep exchange statements for Modelo 721 if your balance exceeds €50,000, and read our Bybit review for a closer look at the platform.
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