An Allocator's View: A Fireside Chat With a Major European Bank

A Spanish bank's crypto pioneer revealed that his compliance team's due diligence journey ended with them becoming investors themselves—a telling sign of where institutional sentiment is heading in the crypto space.

Summary

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At Solana Breakpoint 2025, Roman Gonzalez Torres from A&G Bank sat down with Bitwise's Fabio Massellani to discuss the groundbreaking launch of Europe's first daily liquid crypto fund and the institutional perspective on digital asset allocation. The conversation offered a rare glimpse into how traditional financial institutions are navigating the complex waters of crypto adoption while maintaining regulatory compliance and investor trust.

A&G Bank's crypto fund, launched in Madrid in 2023, represents a significant milestone for European institutional crypto investment. The fund is 100% regulated by the Spanish Authority and invests up to 100% in cryptocurrency using European physically-backed Exchange Traded Products (ETPs). What makes this conversation particularly valuable is Torres' candid account of the internal battles required to bring such a product to market—from educating skeptical compliance officers to convincing risk committees that crypto deserves a place in serious portfolios.

Perhaps most notably, Torres revealed that the fund maintains a 10% allocation to Solana—roughly triple its market dominance—making it significantly overweight on the network. This strategic positioning came after witnessing Solana's remarkable recovery from a 97% drawdown during the 2022 bear market, demonstrating what Torres described as unprecedented resilience for a cryptocurrency.

Key Points:

Building Europe's First Daily Liquid Crypto Fund

The creation of A&G Bank's crypto fund was driven by clear client demand. Private banking clients wanted exposure to digital assets but required a regulated, institutional-grade vehicle that their advisors could confidently recommend in investment committee meetings. Torres described spending half his time educating serious institutional investors about crypto's role in portfolio allocation, and the other half convincing compliance teams that he wasn't going to "blow up the bank."

The fund utilizes European physically-backed ETPs rather than direct cryptocurrency holdings. Torres explained this choice by pointing to operational risks associated with self-custody—even as a computer engineer, he acknowledged concerns about managing keys, hardware wallets, and the constant threat of phishing attacks. For investments exceeding $10,000, he believes the security and regulatory clarity offered by ETPs provides the institutional-grade infrastructure that serious long-term investors require.

Strategic Asset Allocation and the "Fat Protocol" Thesis

Torres outlined a straightforward investment philosophy centered on what he calls "fat protocols"—Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. He compared these major blockchain networks to smartphone operating systems, noting that just as Android and iOS dominate mobile computing (with even Microsoft's Windows Phone failing to gain traction), the cost of penetrating the established smart contract platform market is prohibitively high for newcomers.

This thesis directly influences the fund's allocation strategy. While smaller protocols might offer greater upside potential, Torres emphasized that the probability of these projects failing over a four to five year period remains significantly elevated. Consequently, the fund maintains higher percentage allocations to the established players while maintaining smaller, diversified positions in emerging protocols.

Why Solana Earned Triple Market Weight Allocation

The fund's 10% Solana allocation—approximately three times its market dominance—reflects Torres' conviction in the network's fundamentals. The decision to increase allocation from an initial 4% came after observing Solana's recovery from the 2022 bear market, where the token fell more than 97%. According to Torres, few cryptocurrencies demonstrated comparable recovery speed when measured against Bitcoin.

Beyond price resilience, the growth of real blockchain applications on Solana drove the fund's expanded position. Torres specifically highlighted the explosion in stablecoin activity, noting that over $300 billion now circulates in stablecoins globally, with significant growth occurring on Solana. He argued that concerns about Solana's decentralization are somewhat overblown, noting that even Solana's financial ecosystem offers advantages over traditional financial rails when it comes to moving programmable money at unprecedented speeds.

Education as the Foundation of Institutional Adoption

Both speakers emphasized that education remains the primary bottleneck for broader institutional crypto adoption. Torres described a continuous process of meetings with stakeholders—from private bankers to risk committees—explaining what cryptocurrency actually is and why a structural 1.5-2% portfolio allocation makes sense.

The challenge lies in overcoming crypto's perception as a "lottery" rather than a legitimate asset class. Torres countered this skepticism with bold projections, suggesting the space could deliver 40% annualized returns over the next decade—potentially multiplying invested capital by 30 times. His message to institutions: "It's not about if, it's about how much to allocate."

Facts + Figures

• A&G Bank's crypto fund launched in Madrid, Spain in 2023 as Europe's first daily liquid crypto fund
• The fund is 100% regulated by the Spanish Authority
• Current Solana allocation stands at 10%—approximately triple its market dominance
• Solana fell more than 97% during the 2022 bear market before recovering
• The fund's initial Solana allocation was 4% before increasing to 10%
• Over $300 billion is currently circulating in stablecoins globally
• Torres recommends a minimum 1-2% portfolio allocation to crypto for institutional investors
• Torres projects 40% annualized returns for the crypto space over the next 10 years
• The fund invests using European physically-backed ETPs for regulatory compliance and security
• Torres recommends ETPs for investments exceeding $10,000 due to operational risks of self-custody

Top quotes

• "I spent half of my day trying to convince really serious institutional investors... what is really crypto and why they should allocate at least two to three percent in their allocation. And the other part of the day, I spent trying to convince our compliance that I am not here to blow up the bank."

• "After weeks of all this work, he came to me like, okay, Roman, after doing these due diligence, how can investing crypto? So he finally invested. The people that really are digging in that are doing the due diligence are finally investing in crypto."

• "There are a few coins that if you measure the price action in terms of Bitcoin... there are a few ones that recover so fast as Solana did."

• "I mean, even Solana financial ecosystem is better than the current financial traditional rails."

• "Solana is really fast, how Solana is allowing you to move dollars as the speed of light. And it's converting dollars into programmable money."

• "This is an asset class that correlates... This is going to give you 40% annualized returns. And that's going to multiply your capital by 30 times. So it's not about if, it's about how much to allocate."

• "When you try to invest more than 10,000, you should go safe. I am a computer engineer and even myself, sometimes I'm kind of like, I could mess it up with the keys, with the ledger, with everything."

Questions Answered

Why do traditional banks use ETPs instead of buying crypto directly?

Exchange Traded Products provide the institutional-grade security and regulatory compliance that banks require for their clients. Torres explained that while direct crypto transactions work fine for smaller amounts, investments above $10,000 face significant operational risks including key management issues, hardware wallet vulnerabilities, and phishing attacks. Even as a computer engineer himself, Torres admitted concerns about making mistakes with self-custody. ETPs eliminate these risks by providing a familiar, regulated investment wrapper that fund managers can defend in risk committee meetings and that clients can hold with confidence.

What makes Solana attractive to institutional investors?

Solana's investment case for institutions rests on three pillars: demonstrated resilience, real-world adoption, and technical performance. The network's recovery from a 97% drawdown in 2022 proved its staying power when many expected it to fail. The explosive growth of stablecoins and decentralized applications on the network provides fundamental justification for allocation. Additionally, Solana's transaction speed enables use cases—particularly around programmable money and stablecoin transfers—that traditional financial rails cannot match, making it a strategic bet on financial infrastructure modernization.

How much crypto should be in an institutional portfolio?

Torres recommends a minimum 1-2% structural allocation to cryptocurrency for institutional portfolios, with 2-3% being his preferred target. This position reflects his view that crypto represents an asset class that "correlates" differently from traditional assets and offers significant long-term growth potential. He projects 40% annualized returns for the crypto space over the next decade, suggesting that even small allocations could meaningfully impact overall portfolio performance while maintaining appropriate risk management.

Why is A&G Bank overweight on Solana compared to market cap?

The fund's 10% Solana allocation—roughly three times the network's market dominance—reflects conviction in Solana's fundamentals and growth trajectory. Torres cited Solana's exceptional recovery from the 2022 bear market as initial validation, followed by due diligence that revealed growing real blockchain applications on the protocol. The growth of stablecoin activity on Solana particularly influenced the decision, as it demonstrates practical adoption of the network for financial use cases. Torres views concerns about Solana's centralization as less important than its practical advantages for moving value quickly.

What are the biggest challenges for crypto fund adoption at traditional banks?

Education remains the primary obstacle to institutional crypto adoption. Fund managers must continuously explain cryptocurrency fundamentals to stakeholders ranging from private bankers to compliance officers to risk committees. The perception of crypto as a "lottery" rather than a legitimate asset class persists in many institutions. Torres described a dual challenge: convincing investors of crypto's merits while simultaneously reassuring compliance teams about regulatory and reputational risks. Success requires patience and persistence in demonstrating that cryptocurrency can fit within existing institutional frameworks.