Bison Digital Assets

Bison Digital Assets (BDA) is a Lisbon-based virtual asset service provider and wholly owned subsidiary of Bison Bank, S.A., a Portuguese bank. Authorized by Banco de Portugal on April 15, 2022, BDA was the first entity in Portugal owned by a bank to receive regulatory approval for virtual asset custody and exchange activities. It began operating commercially in January 2023, positioning itself as a regulated bridge between traditional banking infrastructure and the digital asset economy.

Regulatory Foundation

BDA's defining characteristic is its standing as a bank-owned, bank-regulated entity in Portugal's financial system. Unlike independently licensed crypto exchanges, Bison Digital Assets operates under Bison Bank's compliance and risk management framework, giving clients access to bank-grade asset protection. Assets held on the platform are never lent out or rehypothecated; they are maintained on a 1:1 basis in segregated accounts, with all operations individually registered. This structure provides clients with the transparency and accountability associated with regulated financial institutions rather than unregulated exchanges.

In June 2026, Bison Bank went further, becoming Portugal's first bank to operate as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. As part of that transition, BDA was fully integrated into Bison Bank's core structure. CEO António Henriques described the MiCA authorization as "the natural step of fully integrating this area into the heart of the bank."

Services

Bison Digital Assets provides two core offerings: digital asset custody and exchange.

Custody is built on a multi-layered security architecture. In November 2024, BDA integrated Fireblocks' MPC (Multi-Party Computation) technology, which provides cryptographic protection for digital wallet creation, management, and asset transfers. Fireblocks is trusted by more than 2,000 financial organizations globally and has facilitated over $6 trillion in digital asset transfers. The integration gave BDA clients full, independent control of their digital wallets with an additional layer of security.

Exchange services allow clients to deposit, trade, and withdraw digital assets with rapid fiat settlement in EUR, USD, GBP, and RMB through Bison Bank's banking rails. BDA accesses multiple liquidity providers to offer competitive pricing. The platform supports on-chain deposits and withdrawals and is accessible via Android, iOS, and web.

Supported Assets and Blockchain Networks

BDA's supported asset list includes major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana (SOL). In 2024, BDA expanded its offering to include two new tokens: EURC (Circle's euro stablecoin) and Solana (SOL).

The Solana connection deepened through BDA's January 2025 partnership with Circle, which added USDC and EURC support on both the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. Clients can use these stablecoins for deposits and withdrawals, currency conversions, blockchain transfers, and payments. Circle's VP of Partnerships described the collaboration as reflecting "our shared vision to enable the global movement of money in a secure, compliant, and internet-native way." Circle was the first major global stablecoin issuer to comply with MiCA, making this partnership particularly relevant for BDA's European regulatory ambitions.

Target Market and Scale

BDA serves high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients across multiple regions, with stated presence in Europe, APAC, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and North America. The platform also targets digital wallets, exchanges, and fintechs through Bison Bank's broader digital asset services offering.

By the end of 2025, BDA served approximately 275 clients and had processed EUR 165 million in total trading volume since inception.

Additional Partnerships and Products

Beyond Fireblocks and Circle, Bison Digital Assets has pursued several strategic partnerships:

• Sygnum Bank: An early partnership with Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum helped BDA build out its initial crypto market entry, providing access to institutional-grade crypto infrastructure.
• Visa and Minsait (2024): Bison Bank launched the Bison Card in partnership with Visa and Minsait, offering clients a crypto-linked payment card.
• Stablecoin development: Bison Bank announced plans for EUB (Bison Electronic Money Token, the first Portuguese stablecoin) and a USB token, extending the bank's role in stablecoin infrastructure beyond distributing third-party tokens.

Strategic Positioning

Bison Digital Assets occupies an unusual position in the European crypto landscape: a regulated, bank-owned VASP operating with full Banco de Portugal authorization, now upgraded to MiCA-compliant CASP status. For institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals who require bank-level compliance, the absence of rehypothecation, and access to multi-currency fiat settlement, BDA offers regulated digital asset infrastructure that more typical crypto exchanges cannot provide. Its support for Solana (SOL) and Circle stablecoins on the Solana network gives it direct exposure to Solana's growing role in institutional and payment use cases within Europe.