Some eight million people invest in digital currencies and enjoy the services offered by more than 120 companies linked to this sector in Spain.
Little by little, cryptocurrencies have made their way into the finances of Spaniards. According to a report by the Bank of Spain, these digital currencies moved a transaction volume of 60,000 million euros in 2021 in Spain alone. That is, around 1,275 euros per inhabitant. With these figures, Spain is the fourth country with the highest amount of exchanges with digital currencies, only behind Germany, France and the Netherlands.
The ‘activos’ has selected 33 companies, some of which are registered in the Bank of Spain’s register of crypto service providers and others that are just as well known, but do not appear in the document. Among them are exchange platforms, bitcoin ATM providers and companies that allow you to receive your salary in cryptocurrencies. It should be noted that the registration of a company on this platform only demonstrates that it has an adequate structure to comply with the law on the prevention of money laundering, but in no case does it imply supervision by the agency. This register, which has been in force for a year, has 43 companies and has not added new names since November 2022, when the FTX scandal broke after its bankruptcy
A SECTOR ON THE RISE
The use of cryptocurrencies has been on the rise since 2018. In the last four years, according to BBVA, their use has soared 900%. The market capitalisation of digital currencies exceeds 2.5 trillion dollars, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and it is estimated that there are more than 350 million users worldwide. There are more than 10,000 virtual currencies worldwide, a number that is growing all the time. The most important are: bitcoin, ethereum, cardano and solana.
In Spain, it is estimated that there are more than 120 companies linked to the world of cryptocurrencies, some of which were born in the country and others are subsidiaries of foreign companies. In total they employ around 1,100 people, according to the latest Guide to crypto companies prepared by the CryptoPlaza community.
If we look at the investment sphere, there are eight million people in Spain who prefer cryptocurrencies to other types of assets, many of them young people.
The new digital reality means that the financial sector must continue to address medium-term challenges, such as “the popularisation of cryptoassets”, as recently stated by the governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo de Cos, “to promote their sustainability in the medium and long term”.
The regulation of cryptocurrencies in the European Union (EU), the Market in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCA), could come into force as early as 2023.
Source: el Periódico de España
Disclaimer: The information set out herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendations. All investments and trading involve risk and it is the responsibility of each individual to do their due diligence before making any investment decision.
