Spain’s Central Bank says the number of licensed crypto-related firms in the country grew by 50% in 2023.
Per data released by the bank, as well as a report from Criptonoticias, the bank has recently given some 30 firms operating permits.
The list of Bank of Spain-approved crypto operators is now 85 members strong.
The list contains major crypto exchanges, such as BitPanda and the Spanish branches of Crypto.com and Binance.
Alongside these exchanges are smaller domestic Web3 firms, as well as crypto custodians.
One notable name on the list is the Madrid Stock Exchange-listed security provider Prosegur, which has moved into the crypto custody space.
The vast majority of the firms on the list are headquartered in Madrid or Barcelona. A few others are based in smaller Spanish cities.
But other companies on the list are headquartered overseas. These include businesses based in the Netherlands, Malta, Italy, Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus, Hungary, Luxembourg, the UK, and Germany.
The bank is the chief regulator of the Spanish crypto industry, and since October 2021 has required all firms that offer crypto-related services to apply for licences.
This process involves submitting and “certifying” “extensive electronic documentation,” the media outlet wrote.
Registration has become even more complicated since Spain started implementing EU MiCA regulations.
🇪🇸 Spain Moves to Adopt MiCA Six Months Before Deadline, Cites Investor Protection: Here’s More
Spain has unveiled plans to reduce the transition period before the application of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation.#CryptoNews #Spainhttps://t.co/1FbncqhKcY
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) October 31, 2023
Spain: Leading the Way in Crypto Adoption?
The nation has adopted a series of rules aimed at preventing the use of crypto in money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Spain has also adopted key Financial Action Task Force (FATF) requirements.
These include the Travel Rule – a regulation that forces exchanges to share information about their clients.
Despite the increased regulatory complexity of running a crypto firm in Spain, adoption appears to be growing apace.
The rise in new firms moving into the space in 2023 appears to confirm this, as does a rise in crypto-powered commerce.
Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoin-powered real estate transactions are also on the up in Spain.
In October, the real estate platform Idealista reported that more Spanish properties were available to BTC and crypto buyers than anywhere else in the world.
The platform quoted Forex Suggest data showing that while just 80 United States vendors stated they would accept BTC or crypto pay, 289 Spanish vendors were prepared to accept tokens.
One vendor even offered to sell a car parking space to crypto-paying buyers.
Cryptonews.com found over 20 houses and apartment listings on the platform on December 21, where vendors said they would accept BTC.
These included studio flats, luxurious villas, and mansions in locations from Madrid to Benidorm and the Canary Islands.
