The merger of Web2 and Web3 tools continues as crypto-backed debit cards become more mainstream. In an announcement on Feb. 10, Bit2Me, the largest Spanish cryptocurrency exchange, revealed its new cashback debit card in partnership with Mastercard. The original Bit2Me card works for its users via the Mastercard network that hosts millions of businesses worldwide. This new update offers users up to 9% crypto cashback for all purchases made with the card online or in-store. Leif Ferreira, the CEO and co-founder of Bit2Me, told Cointelegraph that the use of already known Web2 financial tools like debit and credit cards comes …

According to a Feb. 2 report by Turkish news agency Anadolu, Spanish authorities have arrested the CEO, sales executive and marketing director of Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato. In total, six Russian and Ukrainian nationals related to the exchange were arrested in a joint effort between France, Portugal, Cyprus and United States law enforcement. As told by Spanish police, the exchange's anonymity allowed it to become the platform of choice for criminal organizations seeking to launder money via cryptocurrency. Authorities seized $19.8 million (18 million euros) in digital assets, luxury cars, cash, smartphones and other items related to the investigation …

The financial sandbox ar of the Bank of Spain, or Banco de España, has reportedly approved a project from fintech firm Monei testing a token linked to the euro. According to a Jan. 18 report from Spain-based news outlet Cinco Días, the Bank of Spain gave the green light to Monei to issue its EURM token as part of a testing phase expected to last between 6-12 months. The sandbox was aimed at establishing a controlled testing environment for financial innovations projects in Spain under the supervision of central bank authorities. As part of EURM’s testing phase, eligible Spanish residents …

The death of four crypto billionaires within a month has caught the crypto community's attention. These deaths occurred under suspicious circumstances, and more importantly, some of these billionaires have raised alarms about being in danger. 4 crypto billionaires dead in the span of a month. Just before, and during the FTX collapse. Too strange sound ... pic.twitter.com/ubtpweiJcw — Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) January 9, 2023 The death spiral started towards the end of October when Nikolai Mushegian, the co-founder of MakerDAO, was found dead on a Puerto Rican beach just hours after tweeting that intelligence agencies were after him. The …

El Salvador, the first country to legalize Bitcoin (BTC), has been pushed down yet another spot in total crypto ATM installations as Australia records 216 ATMs stepping into the year 2023. As part of El Salvador’s drive to establish Bitcoin as a legal tender, President Nayib Bukele had decided to install over 200 crypto ATMs across the country. While this move made El Salvador the third largest crypto ATM hub at the time after the United States and Canada in September 2021, Spain and Australia overtook the Central American country’s ATM count in 2022. On October 2022, Cointelegraph reported that …

Spain’s central bank, the Bank of Spain (BDE) said it intends to launch an experimental program to begin testing wholesale Central Bank Digital Currencies (CDBCs) and is seeking collaboration proposals from local finance and technology institutions. The bank will focus on three main areas with the program that seeks to simulate the movement of funds, experiment with the liquidation of financial assets, and analyze the benefits and drawbacks of introducing a wholesale CBDC to its current processes and infrastructure according to a translated Dec. 5 statement. A wholesale CBDC refers to a digital currency typically for use by banks to …

Cryptocurrencies tied to national soccer teams have failed to keep the attention of 2022 FIFA World Cup fans, with many soccer-linked fan token prices plummeting since the tournament began. Between Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Argentina, the associated digital fan tokens have fallen between 60% to 88% percent in price since the start of the World Cup on Nov. 20, according to CoinGecko. This is despite Brazil, Argentina and Portugal reaching the quarter-finals, while Spain was a strong contender up until they were knocked out on Dec. 6. The tokens do generally react to immediate results, with Spain's SNFT token down …

Crypto exchange Bitstamp reported obtaining a license for operations with crypto in Spain. It marks approval in yet another European jurisdiction for an exchange, which has been focusing on the EU market since its launch in 2011. The company revealed the news about its Spanish license on Nov. 17. The approval from the Bank of Spain lets Bitstamp’s local subsidiary offer virtual currency exchange services for fiat currency and electronic wallet custody services to Spanish users. Bitstamp became the 46th virtual asset provider to receive a license in Spain, following the likes of Binance and Bitpanda. Spain has recently demonstrated …

The European country of Spain is officially home to the third-largest network of Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency ATMs after the United States and Canada. Spain currently hosts 215 crypto ATMs, pushing El Salvador — wi 212 crypto ATMs — down to the fourth position after surpassing the country by 3 crypto ATMs. Data from CoinATMRadar confirms that Spain represents 0.6% of the global crypto ATM installations. Moreover, the revelation places Spain as the highest contributor to crypto ATMs in Europe, which represents 14.65% of total installations in the continent, followed by Switzerland (144 ATMs), Poland (142 ATMs) and Romania (135 …

With crypto adoption moving forward in various parts of the world, Spain continues to encounter major developments in its local blockchain space as its largest telecom services provider dives deeper into Web3 technologies. Telefónica, the multinational telecom company based in Madrid, Spain, has enabled payments with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), USD Coin (USDC) and many others on its online tech marketplace called Tu. The firm integrated a crypto payment feature provided by the Spanish crypto exchange Bit2Me to receive crypto in exchange for their tech products. The exchange teased the integration during its Telefónica Metaverse Day …

Crypto exchange Binance is now registered as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) by the Bank of Spain, allowing the exchange to offer custody and crypto exchange services in the country. In an announcement on Friday, Binance said that its Spanish subsidiary, Moon Tech Spain, was registered as a VASP by Spain’s central bank on Thursday. It applied for registration in January. Binance can now provide fiat currency exchange to digital assets and wallet custody services while complying with the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing rules. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the development in Spain is a result of …

Bitpanda, an Austrian cryptocurrency exchange that was valued at $4.1 billion last summer, has received registration as a digital currency exchange and digital asset custody service provider in Spain. The company’s name appeared in the Bank of Spain’s registry for crypto enterprises on Thursday. The registry itself opened in October 2021. At the moment, it includes 15 companies. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Bitpanda’s representative specified that the company has been de-facto operating in the country since 2014. Spain marks the sixth European country in which the Vienna-based company has obtained a license. In December 2020, it registered with the Financial Markets …