Banca Sella gets MiCA clearance for crypto services in Italy

Update May 28, 2026, 7:02 am UTC: This article has been updated to add comments from a Banca Sella spokesperson.

Italian bank Banca Sella announced that it has completed its notification process with the Bank of Italy under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, allowing it to offer crypto-asset services.

On Wednesday, the bank said it is the first bank in Italy authorized to offer crypto-asset services, adding that the approval will allow it to launch a solution focused on the custody, transfer and receipt of digital assets in 2026, aimed at “selected categories” of customers.

Banca Sella is the commercial bank of Sella Group. According to Sella Group, it has almost 300 branches and more than 2,400 employees.

The approval gives Italy’s banking sector a regulated entry point into digital assets under MiCA, as European financial institutions move from crypto pilots and partnerships toward licensed custody, tokenized payments and stablecoin infrastructure. 

Andrea Tessera, managing director of digital banking at Banca Sella, said tokenization is contributing to a shift toward “instant, interoperable, and programmable” payments. He said the bank’s planned crypto service is part of that shift.

Sella announces MiCA approval. Source: Sella

Banca Sella targets second-half 2026 crypto launch

A Banca Sella spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the bank has not yet finalized the customer categories initially eligible for the service, adding that it is “fine-tuning the final offer” and will provide more details in the coming months. 

The spokesperson said the bank is exploring multiple digital asset options, “beginning with the main digital assets for the ecosystem,” and confirmed that the service will be available through Banca Sella’s existing banking channels. The spokesperson said that the bank’s current authorization covers only custody and transfer services, though Banca Sella is looking to expand into other products in the future. 

The bank does not yet have a precise launch date but is targeting the second half of 2026 for the service’s rollout, the spokesperson told Cointelegraph.

Hype gave earlier crypto exposure

The MiCA approval is not Banca Sella’s first connection to crypto. Banca Sella also said in the announcement that its MiCA approval follows its participation in a distributed ledger technology pilot promoted by the Bank of Italy’s Fintech Milano Hub in 2022. 

Banca Sella said it has also created an internal DLT and digital assets team, and added that it's also among the founders of Qivalis, a consortium of 37 European banks that plans to issue a euro-denominated stablecoin.

Related: Bank of Italy chief says banks, not stablecoins, anchor digital money

The bank also previously had crypto exposure through Hype, its digital banking brand, which integrated Bitcoin wallet services through Italian crypto firm Conio.

Conio said its first banking integration became operational in March 2020 through a partnership with Hype, Banca Sella Group’s digital banking brand. According to Conio, Hype went live in 2020 and allowed retail customers to buy, sell, send and receive digital assets.

Hype’s current website advertises a Bitcoin wallet that lets adult customers create a wallet and buy, sell or exchange Bitcoin directly from the Hype app. 

In 2024, Reuters reported that Banca Sella had around 1.3 million customers, while Hype served around 1.7 million customers.

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