Banco Santander, founded in 1857 in Santander, Spain, is one of the largest banks in the eurozone by market capitalization. Its entry into blockchain and crypto investing came through Santander InnoVentures, a dedicated fintech venture fund launched in 2014. In 2020, Santander InnoVentures was spun out and rebranded as Mouro Capital, an independently managed fund, though Santander remains its primary limited partner.
Santander's direct blockchain activity predates most institutional peers. In 2018, Santander became one of the first global banks to launch a live cross-border payments app, One Pay FX, built on Ripple's distributed ledger technology. In September 2019, the bank issued a $20 million bond entirely on the Ethereum blockchain – one of the first end-to-end blockchain bond transactions by a major financial institution, settling both securities and cash on-chain. These moves signaled an institutional appetite for blockchain infrastructure rather than speculative token bets.
Santander's venture crypto portfolio is relatively focused. The bank has kept its on-chain exposure primarily in infrastructure and payments rails, avoiding pure token speculation. Its broader fintech portfolio through Mouro Capital spans around $400 million in assets under management across two funds, with investments across Europe, Latin America, and the United States.
Notable investments
- Ripple – One of Santander's most visible blockchain bets. Santander participated in early funding rounds and integrated Ripple's xCurrent protocol into One Pay FX for real-time international transfers in the UK, Spain, Brazil, and Poland.
- Ethereum blockchain bond (2019) – Santander issued and settled a $20M bond natively on Ethereum, using a private key structure to manage coupon payments on-chain. The World Bank was a counterparty on the settlement side.
- Tradeshift – Supply chain payments and trade finance platform. Mouro Capital participated in growth rounds. Tradeshift operates a blockchain-adjacent embedded finance layer for B2B commerce.
- Upgrade – US-based neobank with crypto-linked card products. Mouro Capital invested in the Series D and later rounds.
- Kabbage – Small business lending platform acquired by American Express in 2020. An early InnoVentures win that validated the fund's fintech thesis before the pivot to blockchain.
Public information about the remaining portfolio companies in the crypto-specific category is limited. Santander has not disclosed all positions, and some investments were made via Mouro Capital under confidentiality agreements.
Team
Mariano Belinky served as founding Managing Partner of Santander InnoVentures from 2014, overseeing the fund's early bets including the Ripple relationship. Manuel Silva Martínez took over as Managing Partner when the fund became Mouro Capital in 2020 and has since led the independent vehicle. Silva Martínez previously worked in growth equity at Santander and brings a background in cross-border fintech markets across Europe and Latin America. Other general partners at Mouro Capital include Maha Abouelenein and several operating partners with backgrounds in banking technology. The team is headquartered in London with close ties to Santander's Madrid headquarters.
Recent activity
Between 2024 and early 2026, Santander's blockchain strategy shifted toward tokenized assets and regulated digital infrastructure. The bank joined the SWIFT tokenization pilot in 2024, which tested interoperability between tokenized asset networks across major custodians. Santander also participated in the European Central Bank's wholesale CBDC experiments under the ECB's DLT settlement trials, representing one of the largest commercial banks in the eurozone to complete live settlement tests.
On the Mouro Capital side, new deal activity slowed in 2024 relative to the 2020–2022 peak, reflecting broader venture market compression. The fund has not announced a third vehicle publicly as of mid-2025. Public information about any pending fundraise is limited.
Santander's outlook in digital assets is shaped by its regulatory position. As a systemically important bank operating under the European Banking Authority and Spain's Banco de España, it moves cautiously – prioritizing infrastructure plays and compliant tokenization over high-risk early-stage token projects. That conservatism has kept losses contained but also limited upside in faster-moving crypto cycles. For institutional investors watching traditional finance's blockchain entry points, Santander remains one of the more credible and consistent actors in the European banking sector.