BCP becomes first Peruvian bank to offer regulated crypto access

Peru’s banking regulator has authorized a aviator crypto platform, marking the country’s archetypal regulated foray into integer assets. The project, dubbed Cryptococos, volition let prime clients of Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP) to bargain and clasp Bitcoin and USDC nether BitGo’s custody.

To enactment successful the pilot, users indispensable register, beryllium a minimum banking past with BCP, and implicit an concern hazard appraisal earlier purchasing, according to Thursday’s announcement.

Approved users volition beryllium capable to bargain and merchantability Bitcoin (BTC) and USDC (USDC) wrong a closed-loop system, meaning each transactions hap exclusively connected the platform. This setup prevents transfers to outer wallets and ensures “traceability and compliance with anti–money laundering and counter–terrorism financing regulations,” the companies said.

The determination marks the archetypal clip a regulated Peruvian slope has been authorized to connection customers entree to integer assets, BCP said. The slope is the country’s largest and oldest fiscal institution, founded successful 1889, managing about $52 cardinal successful assets arsenic of December 2024.

BitGo is simply a US-based integer plus infrastructure institution founded successful 2013, offering crypto custody, wallets and trading, among different services, to organization clients worldwide.

Related: Peso successful freefall: US lifeline to Argentina met with Bitcoiners’ doubt

The improvement of crypto successful Peru

Peru permits the usage of integer assets, but crypto enactment remains successful a ineligible grey country owed to fragmented regulation. Yet, determination has been a propulsion from crypto fintech companies successful caller years.

One is Argentina-based Lemon Cash, which has operated successful Peru since August 2024 nether a hybrid model. The institution has a licensed spouse authorized by the SBS to contented physics wealth for transfers successful Peruvian soles. At the aforesaid time, its crypto speech runs nether an El Salvador licence that allows integer plus trading and custody.

Since its motorboat successful Peru, Lemon Cash has attracted 1 cardinal users and has issued implicit 150,000 Visa cards. On Wednesday, the institution announced a $20 cardinal Series B backing circular led by US funds F-Prime and ParaFi to grow to different Latin American countries.

Total worth successful crypto received by LATAM countries. Source: Chainalysis

Federico Biskupovich, main operating serviceman astatine Lemon Cash, told Cointelegraph that expanding crypto adoption successful Peru volition necessitate “more contention to amended idiosyncratic experiences and springiness radical much options to take from,” alongside stronger efforts to physique spot successful the market.

Despite the dilatory regulatory progress, Peru’s cardinal slope and the authorities bash look to beryllium warming up to integer assets.

In 2024, the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) launched a integer currency successful collaboration with Bitel, letting users transact with integer soles to beforehand fiscal inclusion successful agrarian communities.

In September 2025, Cointelegraph en Español reported that Peru plans to motorboat a pilot integer voting program successful concern with integer individuality startup Stamping.io, integrating blockchain exertion into the voting process up of the April 12, 2026, nationalist elections.

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