Portugal's Bison Bank Acquires Crypto License from the Central Bank

Bison Bank, a Portuguese financial institution, has been given license by the nation's Central Bank, Banco de Portugal to provide virtual asset services, according to the updated list of the apex bank.

Confirmed last Thursday. This license makes it the first Portuguese bank to be licensed for any related crypto services.

As per local media, Bison Bank will establish a dedicated unit dubbed Bison Digital Asset that will offer exchange and custodial services for digital currencies to clients.

Although the institution has not named the digital currency it will be supporting, the Lisbon headquartered financial outfit through its new subsidiary is on track to offer a new and wider range of services and products. This will be in line with global market trends through its regulated platform for professional traders.

Bison Bank is owned by Bison Capital Holding Company Limited, a Hong Kong-based Chinese capital company. The financial institution offers services ranging from wealth management, deposits, and investment banking to its individual and professional customers.

Portugal and the crypto sphere

Though Bison is Portugal's first crypto bank, it's not the country's most notable event in the crypto sphere. Portugal is an emerging ecosystem for crypto as it has one of the friendliest tax regimes as regards digital assets in the world.

In June 2021 two crypto exchange firms Criptoloja and Mind the Coin were recognized and authorized as VASPs to service the crypto populace in the country. Last month, the Portuguese on-chain payment platform Utrust received an "all categories" authorization.

In October 2020, the government also formed a group of public and private professionals to design a national blockchain strategy. The strategy is expected to be completed in June 2022. The European country has also hosted a lot of known crypto-related events like the Solana Breakpoint Conference last year.

While Bison bank leads traditional banks to provide crypto-related offerings in Portugal, a number of financial institutions in other climes have since accepted and adopted crypto.

U.S investment bank JPMorgan leads the pack with its numerous projects in the crypto sphere while Israeli's Bank Leumi through Pepper Invest is also poised to offer crypto trading services as it awaits approval from relevant authorities.

Image source: Shutterstock