Banca Sella becomes first Italian bank licensed for crypto…

Banca Sella has secured a crypto-asset services license from the Bank of Italy under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, becoming the first Italian lender to clear that bar. The private bank — which manages €50 billion ($54B) in assets and serves more than 3.1 million customers — completed a formal 40-day notification process and plans to launch digital asset custody, transfer, and receipt services for selected corporate clients in 2026.

The infrastructure behind the rollout is built on a compliance partnership with blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis and an internal digital asset pilot initially developed alongside Fireblocks. Sella joins roughly 20 major European banks already operating under MiCA, including Germany's Commerzbank and LBBW, France's Société Générale FORGE, and Spain's BBVA.