Is Santander · Openbank crypto friendly?

Yes for buying crypto inside the bank, with a closed loop that is slow and costly to leave, and exchange transfers that vary by country.

CBL Score: 7 of 16

CriterionScoreSource
Accepts exchange transferspartial (1)source · checked 8 September 2026
Stablecoin off-rampno (0)source · checked 8 September 2026
Business accounts for Web3no (0)source · checked 8 September 2026
Custodyyes (2)source · checked 8 September 2026
Staking and yieldno (0)source · checked 8 September 2026
Cardpartial (1)source · checked 8 September 2026
Multiple jurisdictionspartial (1)source · checked 8 September 2026
Open to retailyes (2)source · checked 8 September 2026

Total 7 of 16. Yes scores 2, partial 1, no 0. A secondary source is press or a third party rather than the bank or its regulator. Unverified means no source could be found; the score stands until one is.

Score history

Scores are revised when a bank's documents change. Each revision is dated and sourced.

8 September 2026Custodypartial to yessource
8 September 2026Stablecoin off-ramppartial to nosource
8 September 2026Cardno to partialsource

Standing

JurisdictionSpain · Germany
TypeTraditional
Health tagSolid Backed by a global systemic bank, MiCA-licensed, clean crypto record. · checked 26 August 2026
P2P toleranceStrict Blocked UK payments to exchanges from 2021, and Spanish forums document accounts frozen after P2P crypto sale transfers. Openbank's own crypto product is softening the stance. · community-reported, separate from the score
Last verified8 September 2026

What Santander · Openbank allows and blocks

Allowed

  • Buying, selling and holding Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Polygon, Cardano, Solana and Polkadot inside the Openbank app in Spain and Germany
  • Orders from 1 euro, plus recurring buys, with no custody fee
  • Custody through a named regulated sub-custodian, Crypto Finance (Deutschland) GmbH of Deutsche Börse Group, in cold storage
  • Requesting a return of your crypto to an approved EU MiCA custodian in your own name, on a form, within 15 business days
  • Receiving fiat from an exchange into a Santander UK account, which the bank says it does not restrict
  • Free current account and free Open Debit card for the first holder, free SEPA transfers in euros

Blocked or restricted

  • No crypto deposits from other platforms into Openbank, which the bank says is not possible for now
  • Withdrawals are full position only, by email or phone request, to Openbank-approved custodians in the EU, at 4 percent of the euro value
  • No stablecoins, staking or yield in the Openbank offer
  • No business accounts at all, so nothing for crypto firms
  • Santander UK caps payments to crypto exchanges at 1,000 pounds per transaction and 3,000 pounds per rolling 30 days, and has blocked payments to Binance since 2021
  • Crypto is live only in Spain and Germany; Openbank in Portugal, the Netherlands and the US does not offer it

Opening an account

Fees that matter

Regulatory history

2021Santander UK stopped customer payments to Binance from 8 July 2021, citing the FCA consumer warning of June 2021. source
2022Santander UK capped payments to crypto exchanges at 1,000 pounds per transaction and 3,000 pounds per rolling 30 days from 15 November 2022 and said it planned to block faster payments to exchanges in 2023; its help page today still shows the caps rather than a full block. source
2025Open Bank, S.A. appears in the CNMV public register of crypto-asset service providers under MiCA; Openbank launched crypto trading in Germany on 16 September 2025 and in Spain on 11 November 2025, with Crypto Finance (Deutschland) GmbH, BaFin-authorised, as sub-custodian. source

Questions about Santander · Openbank

Can I buy Bitcoin at Openbank?

Yes, in Spain and Germany. Openbank customers can buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Polygon, Cardano, Solana and Polkadot in the app from 1 euro. The fee is 1.49 percent per order with a 1 euro minimum, and there is no custody fee. The service launched in Germany on 16 September 2025 and in Spain on 11 November 2025.

Can I withdraw crypto from Openbank to my own wallet?

Only in a limited way. You cannot send crypto into Openbank from another platform. To get crypto out you email or phone the bank, fill in a form for each coin, and the whole position for that coin is sent to a custodian Openbank has approved, based in the EU and authorised under MiCA, in your own name. The fee is 4 percent of the euro value and the bank allows up to 15 business days.

Does Santander let me send money to Kraken or Coinbase?

It depends on the country. Santander UK caps payments to crypto exchanges at 1,000 pounds per transaction and 3,000 pounds in any rolling 30 days, and has blocked payments to Binance since July 2021. Money coming back from an exchange is not restricted. Openbank in Spain does not publish a policy on transfers to exchanges.

Who holds my crypto at Openbank?

Openbank provides the custody service itself under MiCA and uses Crypto Finance (Deutschland) GmbH, part of Deutsche Börse Group and authorised by BaFin, as sub-custodian. The bank says coins sit in a cold wallet disconnected from the internet. Open Bank, S.A. is listed in the CNMV register of crypto-asset service providers.

Closest alternatives

9/16BBVA
Yes. BBVA sells and holds bitcoin and ether inside its own app in Spain, Switzerland and Türkiye, but the Spanish service is a closed loop and moving coins out costs 4%.
6/16N26
Partly. You can buy and sell crypto inside the app through Bitpanda, but nothing moves in or out, and N26 publishes no rule either way on transfers to outside exchanges.
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