The investment bank also plans to make its technology and expertise available to clients interested in launching asset tokenisation projects, reinforcing its commitment to financial innovation.

The initiative is enabled by the European regulatory framework for digital assets, known as MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets), which provides legal clarity and regulatory certainty for cryptoasset issuers and service providers across the European Union.

Under this framework, European regulatory approval enables Bison Bank to operate in Portugal and to deal in and invest in cryptoassets on behalf of its clients.

On Tuesday, the bank announced three strategic initiatives to consolidate its leadership in financial innovation. These include the issuance, for the first time by a Portuguese bank, of a stablecoin indexed to a more stable asset; progress in the tokenisation of assets; and the transformation of Bison Bank into Portugal’s first cryptobank.

Asset tokenisation converts ownership rights in physical or financial assets into digital tokens on a blockchain. These tokens can represent assets such as real estate, artwork or bonds, enabling fractional ownership, faster transactions, greater liquidity and secure, transparent trading on a 24/7 basis.

Although no official launch date has been confirmed, Bison Bank’s chief executive, António Henriques, said the institution is working towards making the new services available in the first half of this year.