Portugal's Bison Bank Breaks Ground in Crypto with Historic MiCA License
Bison Bank in Portugal has become the first bank to receive a full MiCA crypto license from the EU, allowing it to offer crypto services directly as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider.
The license was granted on June 22, making Bison Bank one of approximately 30 banks across the European Union cleared to offer MiCA-compliant crypto services.
Bison Bank's wholly owned subsidiary, Bison Digital Assets (BDA), launched in 2022 as Portugal's first bank-owned Virtual Asset Service Provider licensed by the Bank of Portugal. BDA spent years building out institutional and high-net-worth client relationships, serving around 275 clients and facilitating roughly €165 million in trading volume by 2025.
The CASP authorization effectively absorbs BDA's operations into the parent bank, unlocking a broader menu of services including custody, exchange, and advisory offerings for crypto assets. The integration is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.