- Fireblocks acts as crypto core, while legal review ensured compliance; pilot prepares systems for upcoming Peruvian regulations readiness.
- Parallel efforts include Criptococos purchases of bitcoin and stablecoins, BBVA’s blockchain plans, and outreach across Peru’s remote regions.
Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP) completed the country’s first regulated crypto payment inside a bank-run setting. An employee bought a coffee at an internal café using a digital token issued by the bank.
The token lives on a public network, yet a smart contract blocks resale, restricts spending to BCP cafeterias, and limits users to a defined group. The design removes price risk for participants.
According to Lenin Tarrillo, who leads BCP’s cryptoassets unit, the transaction cleared when the user scanned a QR code. Fireblocks served as the custodial platform, acting as the bank’s crypto core. Before the trial, BCP’s legal team reviewed the plan to confirm compliance with current rules.
The pilot forms part of “Blockchain Gifts,” an internal lab that tests practical uses. The stated aim is direct: prepare capacity now so staff and systems are ready when formal regulation arrives. Therefore, the project focuses on simple steps that reduce user friction rather than headlines.
BCP runs a second track under oversight from the Superintendencia de Banca y Seguros. The “Criptococos” program allows a select group to buy bitcoin and stablecoins through the bank, linking traditional banking channels with crypto assets. Meanwhile, BBVA Perú disclosed that it is preparing a broader blockchain experience for local clients.
Banks exist to meet the need to safeguard their customers’ financial assets. If bitcoin and stablecoins are a financial asset for a growing group of people, banks must begin to develop technological capabilities to be able to provide services to them as well. – Lenin Tarrillo, Head of the Cryptocurrency Division at BCP.
Peru hosts an estimated 1.5 million crypto holders. Educational efforts, including Motiv’s work in several planned “city” projects, have widened awareness. In remote areas, residents already treat bitcoin as a practical savings and payment tool. By contrast, the central bank has voiced doubts about bitcoin and prioritized a central bank digital currency.
For now, BCP’s coffee purchase is a controlled experiment, a small flame against the cold of paperwork. Yet it shows how banks can test custody, payments, and account opening without adding balance-sheet risk. Feedback will guide revisions.
