KBC, Belgium’s largest bank-insurance group, has selected Taurus as its custody partner for crypto assets. Under the partnership, KBC will leverage Taurus-PROTECT, Taurus’ banking-grade digital asset custody platform, to support its regulated crypto offering.
The partnership supports KBC’s move into regulated crypto services and builds on the bank’s earlier announcement that, as of the week of 16 February, private investors in Belgium will be able to buy and sell crypto assets through Bolero, KBC’s online platform for self-directed investors. With this initiative, KBC becomes the first Belgian bank to offer crypto trading within a fully regulated banking framework.
At launch, the offering will cover Bitcoin and Ether and will operate on an execution-only basis for self-directed investors. Crypto trading will be conducted in line with applicable European regulation, including the MiCAR framework, and will be accompanied by mandatory risk disclosures and investor education.
By partnering with Taurus, KBC ensures that crypto assets are safeguarded using institutional-grade technology designed specifically for regulated financial institutions. Custody will be provided through Taurus-PROTECT, Taurus’ award-winning custody platform, which enables secure safekeeping of digital assets within a controlled and auditable environment. The platform integrates seamlessly with KBC’s existing risk management, compliance, and operational frameworks, allowing the bank to retain full oversight and control.
The custody setup supports a closed operating model in which crypto assets bought and sold via Bolero remain within the platform, helping to mitigate operational, fraud, and security risks. This approach relieves clients of the need to manage private keys or choose between different crypto exchanges.
Lamine Brahimi, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Taurus, said: “KBC’s approach demonstrates that regulated crypto services require banking-grade technology. We are proud to support KBC’s market-first initiative in Belgium with Taurus-PROTECT, our institutional custody platform designed specifically for banks.”
Erik Luts at KBC Group, said: “Interest in crypto assets among our clients has been growing for several years. By working with Taurus, we can offer crypto services supported by banking-grade custody, ensuring the same level of security, governance, and control that defines our approach across the organization. This partnership allows us to turn regulated crypto trading into a concrete and reliable offering for our clients.”
About Taurus
Founded in 2018, Taurus is a Switzerland-based financial technology company providing enterprise-grade digital asset infrastructure, with 13 offices around the world. It offers services for issuing, storing, and trading all types of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, tokenized assets, NFTs, and digital currencies. Additionally, Taurus operates a marketplace for private assets and tokenized securities and is a securities firm regulated and supervised by FINMA. For more information, visit https://www.taurushq.com
About KBC Group
KBC is one of the leading financial groups in Europe. It is an integrated bank-insurance group catering mainly for retail and private banking, SMEs and midcap clients. Its core markets are Belgium, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia. The KBC group has also selectively established a presence in a number of other countries and regions around the world.
KBC Group employs around 40 000 staff and caters for about 13 million clients in its core markets. KBC Group NV is listed on Euronext Brussels (ticker symbol ‘KBC’).
