Belgium’s KBC to Offer Bank-Custodied Bitcoin and Ether Trading

One of Belgium’s largest banks is preparing to bring cryptocurrency trading directly to everyday investors.

KBC has announced that it will soon allow retail clients to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum through its own investment platform, marking a notable shift in how traditional banks engage with digital assets in the country.

From mid-February, KBC customers will be able to access crypto trading through Bolero, the bank’s established self-directed investment service. According to KBC, the initiative is aimed at giving Belgian investors a way to trade cryptocurrencies within what it describes as a secure, fully regulated banking environment – something the bank says has not previously been offered in Belgium.

The service will initially support Bitcoin and Ether, with all assets held under KBC’s own custodial architecture. The bank says the setup has been designed in line with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, commonly known as MiCA.

MiCA compliance meets a moving regulatory landscape

KBC says it has submitted a full crypto asset service provider notification to the relevant authorities and considers itself compliant with MiCA requirements. Erik Luts, KBC Group’s chief innovation officer, framed the move as a way to turn regulation into practical access, arguing that a regulated framework makes crypto investment more tangible for the public.

However, the regulatory picture in Belgium remains complex. While MiCA entered into force across the European Union in late 2025, Belgium only finalized its national implementing legislation in December of that year. Under the new law, MiCA officially became effective in Belgium on Jan. 3, 2026.

The legislation designates the Financial Services and Markets Authority and the National Bank of Belgium as the country’s supervisory authorities for crypto asset markets. As of now, however, no MiCA licenses have yet appeared in the public register maintained by the European Securities and Markets Authority.

KBC had first signaled its intention to add crypto trading to Bolero back in mid-2025, with an initial target of launching once regulatory clarity was in place. The bank has not disclosed which authority it coordinated with ahead of the February rollout.
Belgium’s late adoption of MiCA comes amid broader debate within the EU over how crypto oversight should work in practice.

Some member states, including France, have argued for stronger centralized supervision by ESMA and have raised concerns about allowing licenses issued in one country to be freely “passported” across the bloc. Other jurisdictions, such as Malta, have pushed back, warning that excessive centralization could undermine competition and innovation.

Against this backdrop, KBC’s move positions it as an early adopter among Belgian banks, testing how crypto services can be integrated into mainstream banking under Europe’s new regulatory regime.

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