(Spain) Unicaja has entered into an investment agreement with Bit2Me, a digital asset service company for individuals and companies, according to which it acquires more than 5% of the capital and becomes a reference financial institution fintech Alicante in the national territory.
The operation was carried out through Unicaja Ventures, a new project of the Unicaja Group aimed at investing in the world fintech startups.
The investment gives Unicaja the right to enter the board of directors of Bit2Me, as well as the signing of a commercial agreement between both companies to explore synergies for the development of new innovative financial products.
This alliance will allow Unicaja to respond to innovations that may arise due to the upcoming entry into force of the MiCA European Market for Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations, which legislate the issuance, storage and purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies; A pilot regime that defines suitable standards for the creation of new financial markets for digitized (tokenized) assets in distributed technologies, so-called DLT or blockchainand the future digital euro.
For its part, Bit2Me, the first Spanish firm to receive the registration of cryptocurrency service providers from the Bank of Spain and the Spanish-speaking leader in the crypto sector, will be able to offer its more than one million customers banking services. by Unicaja.
Unicaja’s goal with this investment is to position the bank together with a national technology partner in the development of solutions with DLT technologies. Likewise, Bit2Me hopes to strengthen and expand its leadership with the imminent arrival of MiCA.
For Isidro Rubiales, CEO of Unicaja, this operation responds to “our organization’s commitment to technological innovation, as well as taking advantage of the opportunity to create synergies with startups specialized in fintech, such as Bit2Me, to anticipate the future and include solutions that enrich its services and facilitate their adaptation to the changes demanded by customers.’
For his part, Severina J. Mendez, CEO of Transformation at Unicaja, believes that “this alliance allows the organization to have a reference technology partner like Bit2Me to face with greater guarantees the regulatory changes taking place in the sector. “.
For Leif Ferreira, CEO and co-founder of Bit2Me, “with this investment, we aim to strengthen our position as leaders in the sector, using the support and expertise of Unicaja to drive our growth and development.”
For Andrei Manuel, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Bit2Me, “Bit2Me’s goal is to offer innovative and secure solutions that not only comply with new regulations such as MiCA, but also anticipate the consequences of the future digital euro and the tokenization of financial assets within the framework of the European Pilot Regime. This collaboration will allow us to expand our technological and operational capabilities, providing our users with advanced products and services, and increasing trust and confidence in the market.”
A combination of talent and ability
Both companies hope to combine talent and capability to jointly manage the new scenario of innovation that will be presented in the financial sector from 2025, with the entry into force of MiCA, and from 2026, with the anticipated arrival of the digital euro. These regulations will force financial institutions to have certain technological and personal capabilities, which Unicaja is already working on.
All this without losing sight of our shared values of safety, transparency, professionalism and compliance, as well as our commitment to helping our customers thrive.