Key Notes
- KBC will launch BTC/ETH trading for 4M clients starting Feb 16, 2026.
- Service is ‘closed-loop’, no withdrawals to external wallets will be available.
- The bank’s Bolero investment platform operates under European MiCA regulations.
Traditional finance adoption is accelerating as KBC Group announced it will open Bitcoin
BTC
$94 333
24h volatility:
1.6%
Market cap:
$1.89 T
Vol. 24h:
$49.56 B
and Ethereum
ETH
$3 258
24h volatility:
2.0%
Market cap:
$394.13 B
Vol. 24h:
$25.58 B
trading to its 4 million retail clients starting the week of Feb. 16. KBC will become the first financial institution in Belgium to offer direct crypto access. This marks a definitive shift from offshore exchanges to regulated banking channels under the EU’s MiCA framework.
Bitcoin price hasn’t reacted to the news. It is currently trading at $95,671 (-0.9%), while Ether price is close $3,313 (-0.6%).
The service will launch on Bolero, KBC’s execution-only investment platform. Unlike crypto-native exchanges, KBC is enforcing a strict “closed-loop” model.
It means that users can buy and sell, but cannot move assets to self-custody wallets or other exchanges.
Access is gated behind a risk-knowledge test. Moreover, KBC retains control of all private keys within its proprietary infrastructure.
Regulation Landscape
The bank confirmed it has filed a full Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) notification with the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), leveraging the clarity provided by the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation fully implemented last year.
“By offering the opportunity to purchase and sell crypto within a regulated framework, we are making innovation concrete and accessible,” stated Erik Luts, KBC Group Chief Innovation Officer.
The service is positioned as a bank-grade alternative to offshore or app-based access for Belgian households.
Belgium’s plumbing matters here. The FSMA states MiCA implementation in Belgium runs through the Law of 11 December 2025, and it distinguishes between (i) MiCA Article 63 authorization and (ii) Article 60 notifications for certain regulated financial institutions.
That structure gives banks a faster route to market than standalone crypto firms. But desks should track the FSMA’s published lists and ESMA’s interim register cadence for confirmation of who sits where on the authorization spectrum.
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