Blockchain
Today
Central bank-backed digital currencies, such as the potential digital euro and digital yuan, may become a reality in the coming years. Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, these currencies promise less volatility and greater security. In addition, they will have the support of their respective monetary institutions, responsible for ensuring financial stability.
14 Dec 2020
The tokenisation of assets via blockchain could facilitate new financing pathways, guarantee secure investments and programme digital money so that it can only be used for certain purposes, although the associated regulations have not yet materialised.
09 Dec 2020
Digital coins
BBVA launches its first commercial solution for the trading and custody of bitcoin in Switzerland
BBVA has begun to roll out the trials of what will become its first commercial service for the trading and custody of digital assets. The new service, which is to be offered through BBVA Switzerland, will make it possible to manage bitcoin transactions and have deposits in this cryptocurrency.
24 Sep 2020
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Lucía Pacheco
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Natalia Español
Digital Regulation Senior Manager BBVA
24 Jan 2020
Technology
Quantum computing, 5G and blockchain: technologies that will mark the next decade in banking
2019 has seen the first 5G networks rolled out and the first achievements in quantum computing, as well as the establishment of various financial initiatives using blockchain. These three technologies will mark a before and after in the banking sector in the years to come.
16 Jan 2020
Garanti BBVA is the only private Turkish bank participating in Turkey’s blockchain network, the BiGA Digital Asset Transform Platform, developed by Istanbul Clearing, Settlement and Custody Bank (Takasbank). For the first time, Garanti BBVA carried out blockchain transfers in real time with other participating banks.
03 Jan 2020
In this second article, BBVA experts in various fields give their views on the changes and breakthroughs that happened during 2019, and the ones we will see in the technological banking landscape in 2020.
14 Oct 2019
Banks and investors as starting to awaken to the benefits that can derive from the use of blockchain technologies in bond issues, including green bonds. BBVA and Spanish insurance company Mapfre partnered early this year to arrange the issue of a pioneering blockchain sustainable bond. The technology allows to cut costs, increase efficiency and ensure full transparency.
08 Oct 2019
BBVA has named the winner of its newly created Open Talent Award for Sustainability as Australian last mile start-up AgUnity.
17 Sep 2019
‘The Banker’ has announced the winners in this year’s edition of “The Banker Tech Awards”. BBVA The British financial journal has recognized BBVA in the category devoted to Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) and blockchain.
09 Sep 2019
Big Data
Ricardo Martín Manjón (BBVA): "Success will mean data becomes fully integrated into the business at all levels"
Ricardo Martin Manjón was named as BBVA Global Head of Data in April this year, having previously been the bank’s Global Head of Data Strategy and Data Science Innovation. His role sees him lead the bank’s development, deployment and future thinking around how BBVA drives forward its use of data throughout the Group, so it can achieve its strategic objective of bringing the age of opportunity to everyone.
In this interview Martin Manjón outlines why BBVA has a strategic focus on data, how that manifests itself across the entire group, what it will mean for customers in the future and the critical importance scale plays in data management.
21 Jun 2019
Continuous innovation and the gradual decline of the use of cash are giving way to a new digital monetary system. According to José Manuel González-Páramo, executive director and head of global economics and public affairs at BBVA, central banks must define the new role they will play coming out of this transformation.
30 Apr 2019
BBVA has been honoured with three accolades in the 2019 edition of Global Finance Magazine’s The Innovators Awards.
22 Apr 2019
As the General Manager of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), Agustín Carstens, said, “New technology is not the same as better, or more efficient technology.” However, you don’t have to be a techno-optimist to recognize that the evolution of technology is unstoppable and improvements can be expected to address things like the volatility of cryptocurrencies. In fact, solutions are already being considered for this problem, such as stable digital currency, or “stablecoins”.
17 Apr 2019
Forbes magazine has included BBVA as one of the ‘Blockchain 50,’ a list that recognizes the leaders in the use and development of this exponential technology. The U.S. publication specifically focused on BBVA’s efforts in the area of blockchain-powered syndicated loans, which are used by the bank to further transparency, security, and efficiency throughout its business processes.
11 Apr 2019
José Manuel González-Páramo, BBVA’s Head of Global Economics and Public Affairs, at a meeting organized by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in Washington, D.C. defended a regulatory framework for the financial sector that promotes the potential benefits of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Blockchain, as the first fully functional DLT, was key to the discussion.
03 Apr 2019
BBVA is one of the founding members of the International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA), which was officially launched today in Brussels. Carlos Kuchkovsky, CTO of New Digital Businesses at BBVA, represents the only Spanish company on the new association’s ten-member Board.
Blockchain
BBVA and Madrid’s government close the first blockchain-powered sustainable “Schuldschein” loan
The deal, structured as per the German debt instrument, is worth €220 million, which will be allocated to sustainable projects. Blockchain technology was used to manage the negotiation of the deal, and both BBVA and Madrid’s regional government used their own nodes to establish a network between the two parties.
19 Feb 2019
BBVA Group issued the first structured green bond using blockchain technology to negotiate the terms and conditions. It is a private placement in which MAPFRE invested €35 million six year term bond linked to the evolution of the five year euro swap rate. With this bond issue, the BBVA Group demonstrates that it has the means, knowledge, and commitment to provide its clients cutting-edge products based on the latest technologies and innovative sustainable solutions.
29 Jan 2019
Google recently obtained a payment license in Ireland and Lithuania in order to offer payment services. Alipay, the financial division of Alibaba, received a similar license in Luxembourg. Facebook has had one since 2017. These licenses open the door to Internet giants operating as payment service providers across Europe, allowing them to manage card payments and transfers, for example. Is this merely the first step to them becoming banks?
28 Jan 2019
20 Dec 2018
Blockchain
Investment Plan for Europe: BBVA and EIB Group sign the first synthetic securitization in blockchain of €1 billion
BBVA and the European Investment Bank Group (EIB) have signed a synthetic securitization of €1 billion. The agreement is a very innovative financing operation, as it is the first synthetic securitization to be supported by blockchain technology in the European Union and the third synthetic corporate loan securitisation signed by the EIB Group and BBVA. Moreover, BBVA and EIB Group will provide €360 million to finance investments projects of SMEs and midcaps.
17 Dec 2018
According to BBVA Next Technologies’ experts, these are four of the emerging platforms of the blockchain technology to watch out for next year.
14 Dec 2018
BBVA and Porsche Holding Salzburg, the largest and most successful automotive distributor in Europe and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, closed a €150 million term loan backing strategic acquisitions in the retail distribution network in Europe and Asia.
11 Dec 2018
The conference “Decentralized World” was recently held at BBVA’s Open Space in Madrid, focusing on the decentralization of the economy and trying to unravel some of the possibilities that blockchain technology can offer for data management in the future.
05 Dec 2018
Innovation
‘Blockchain’, ‘tokens’, quantum computing… what are European innovation leaders talking about?
A group of prominent innovation leaders and experts gathered recently in Paris to attend the Innovation Leaders Summit, organized by the MIT Technology Review. BBVA’s was the only major bank to take part as speaker at the event. Here, it debated on current topics, such as the role of blockchain in the emerging tokenized economy and the security challenges posed by quantum computing.
20 Nov 2018
BBVA is one of the first five banks invited to join a blockchain forum organized by the European Commission (EC) in Brussels to, subsequently, join the launch of the IATBA, an European platform to promote the use of blockchain. The purpose of this publicly-sponsored initiative is to garner support from private blockchain and DLT experts to contribute to outline the EU’s strategy regarding these technologies.
07 Nov 2018
Blockchain
BBVA signs world-first blockchain-based syndicated loan arrangement with Red Eléctrica Corporación
BBVA and Red Electrica Corporation have become the first businesses in the world to deliver a syndicated loan using blockchain. The €150m deal, granted by BBVA, BNP Paribas and MUFG, was reached in record speed using BBVA’s proprietary platform- which is powered by distributed ledger technology.
02 Nov 2018
From birthdays to Buffett and blockchain, this week had a little bit of everything in fintech. Check out the headlines below for what you might have missed.
25 Oct 2018
opinion

Ricardo Laiseca
Head of Global Finance
23 Oct 2018
At BBVA Open Summit, Ricardo Forcano, BBVA’s Global Head of Talent and Culture; and Rob Brown, Global CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) at BBVA, chatted with the representatives of two startups that are working to leverage blockchain and AI technologies to enable new decentralized ways of working.
11 Oct 2018
CreditGate24, a company that specializes in financing to individuals and companies, has been chosen as the best Swiss startup in the final of BBVA Open Talent Switzerland held in Zürich. The fintech will represent Switzerland in the global final to be held October 16-17 in Madrid.
02 Oct 2018
This open-source blockchain platform has made its way into different sectors of the economy and aims to become the blockchain technology standard in the world of business. BBVA is an official member of the Hyperledger consortium and has used its technological platform to manage blockchain-powered corporate loans.
25 Sep 2018
Some companies are now working to incorporate blockchain technology into smartphones. A cell phone that incorporates these characteristics could become the most secure on the market. This would be possible thanks to blockchain’s intrinsic security provisions.
18 Sep 2018
The tools known as cryptowallets allow the storage and exchange of cryptocurrencies, and are becoming increasingly relevant in the context of the cryptoeconomy and blockchain boom. It is important to recognize their characteristics and differences, as not all offer the same levels of security.
10 Sep 2018
Advances in technology contribute to economic progress and have a direct, long-term impact on society’s well-being. Clearly, digital transformation creates opportunities that improve both our lives and our businesses. BBVA shares this view: the bank has made a commitment to new technologies such as blockchain, which allow it to offer innovative financing approaches to its corporate clients.
06 Sep 2018
Blockchain is one of the most disruptive new technologies in the world of finance. But currently its use in the sector is focused mainly on the underlying technology – Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)- to create applications or redesign processes rather than in creating cryptoassets. The reason? Blockchain applications have the potential to improve the efficiency, transparency and traceability of processes while cryptoassets are volatile.
01 Aug 2018
A new cryptocurrency available without the internet represents one of the first examples of how to implement blockchain technology in the absence of a decent digital infrastructure.
19 Jul 2018
Having successfully carried out the first pilots in the world of a loan and a corporate credit facility using blockchain, BBVA has signed a new loan with ACS using this technology. The deal shows that BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking is continuing to focus on an innovative financing model for its corporate clients.
18 Jul 2018
The financing of startups through ICOs using blockchain technology changes the concept of a unicorn. Is it the same to reach a valuation level of $1 billion in this way as through traditional rounds of investment?
27 Jun 2018

Delia Moreno
Head of Strategy and Business Development of Global Finance at BBVA
26 Jun 2018
Using a smart contract will always make sense when there is a defined workflow that needs to be managed according to certain rules or to ensure the fulfillment of certain previously agreed conditions.
25 Jun 2018
The Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), BME and a group of financial institutions formed by Banco Santander, BBVA, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Commerzbank and Société Générale, have been collaborating over the past year on a project called Fast Track Listing (FTL), which is based on blockchain technology.
20 Jun 2018
The two companies have just used the blockchain technology to renew a credit line worth €325 million, the first initiative of this collaboration.
18 Jun 2018
BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila opened the seminar in Santander organized by the International Menéndez Pelayo University and the Spanish Association of Economic News Journalists (APIE), which this year puts the spotlight on blockchain. BBVA’s CEO lauded digital transformation as a way to improve people’s lives. Additionally, he released the news that in May, BBVA’s digital sales reached 40% of the total, and that the Group will begin testing the negotiation and contracting of syndicated loans using blockchain. Finally, he stated that technological development fosters long-term economic progress and social well-being, which requires collaboration between public and private institutions.
07 Jun 2018
Consensus, the Coindesk conference held a week ago in New York, once again showed expectations generated by blockchain and cryptoassets are at their height. More than 8,400 professionals and investors attended the event, which last year had 2,200 visitors.
30 May 2018
Forrester analyst Martha Bennett shared with BBVA her view on the current uses of and potential of blockchain. According to this expert, this technology is comparable to the mobile phone and the internet in the 1990s when already “usable” but far off reaching full potential.
23 May 2018
Around the 1960s the U.S. Army coined the name soft skills to refer to abilities other than those involved in working with machines. Military instructors realized the need for other abilities in the profesional development of its technicians and engineers.
26 Apr 2018
BBVA has successfully completed the first global corporate loan transaction using blockchain technology from the negotiation of the deal to its signing, in line with their close collaboration to leverage cutting-edge technologies to streamline business processes.
DLT and blockchain share a conceptual origin: they are digitalized and decentralized log books of record. Often the terms are confused, but they are differentiated by an unshared set of specific features.