Why Venga Brought Its Crypto Services to Spanish and Catalan First | HackerNoon

What If Crypto Spoke Your Language?

Crypto has long claimed to be global. But for many users in Spain and Catalonia, accessing crypto services still means operating in English, a language barrier that excludes many potential users. This week, Barcelona-based startup Venga is attempting to fix that.

Venga has become the first crypto app to offer its entire user interface in both Spanish and Catalan, in addition to English. But this is not just a language update, it is the public release of a product designed from the ground up for local, multilingual communities.

And behind the language is a fully featured crypto product suite, built for newcomers and experienced users alike.

What the Venga App Actually Does

For Spanish-speaking users who may not have used crypto apps before, Venga offers a single mobile application with these core services:

1. Named IBAN Accounts

Users receive a personal European IBAN account under their name, similar to a traditional bank account. This makes it easy to deposit euros directly into the app or withdraw back to a bank, a process that is often complex in crypto platforms.

IBANs are not just for receiving salary or transfers. They are the bridge between the euro economy and the crypto ecosystem.

Example: A user can send 200 euros from their Spanish bank account to their Venga IBAN, and it arrives as spendable balance in the app within minutes.

2. Crypto-to-Crypto and Fiat Trading

Once euros or crypto assets are inside the app, users can buy, sell, and swap between popular assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and stablecoins like USDC. The interface is designed to simplify the trading experience — similar to how Revolut or banking apps look.

This helps users avoid complex trading platforms and learn by doing.

3. Cash Out to Bank Accounts or Wallets

Venga allows users to withdraw their balances at any time, either in crypto to an external wallet, or in euros to a traditional bank account. Withdrawals are near-instant, helping reduce friction that many users experience with traditional exchanges.

4. Earn Products

Venga also offers users the ability to earn passive income on select crypto holdings. These “earn” products are built using decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols under the hood but presented in simple, understandable terms. The yields are displayed transparently, and the risks are explained in-app.

Users are not required to understand protocols like Aave or Curve. Venga abstracts away the DeFi complexity and focuses on the result: stable yields on select digital assets.

5. Fully Regulated

Unlike many platforms, Venga operates with full regulatory registration. It is officially licensed as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) with both the Bank of Spain (Reg No. D945) and Poland’s Ministry of Finance.

This means all user onboarding follows KYC/AML rules, and funds are held and processed in compliance with local financial regulations.

Why Spanish and Catalan?

According to data cited by Venga, around 10 million people actively speak Catalan, and Spanish remains the fourth most spoken language in the world. Despite this, few if any crypto services have taken the time to build apps specifically designed for these user bases.

For many Catalan speakers, it is the primary language used at home and in daily life. In financial services, having that language barrier removed is essential to building trust.

“Having the languages available in our app is the beginning of our broader objective to create a hyper-localized Venga experience,” said Michael Stroev, CEO of Venga.

This decision is not just about identity. According to surveys, nearly 20% of Spain’s population uses or holds crypto, but the onboarding experience remains poor. Without local language support, many users either abandon the process or remain exposed to scams, misinformation, or high fees.

CTO Raul Arribas, who is Catalan himself, added: “So we can navigate crypto in the same language we use with our children and loved ones.”

Making Crypto Less Intimidating

One of Venga’s stated goals is to make entering the crypto world as easy as opening a bank app.

The product strategy is built around removing key blockers:

• No need to use English-only platforms

• No need to sign up for multiple services (banks, wallets, exchanges)

• Clear, mobile-native UI with educational steps

• Regulated framework that builds credibility with traditional users

This is especially relevant in Spain, where banks often treat crypto transactions as suspicious, and many users find themselves unable to move money between platforms without account restrictions.

By combining fiat tools like IBANs with crypto services and educational content, Venga aims to offer a bridge, not a wall, between traditional finance and blockchain.

Local Services, Global Vision

Although the app is focused on Spain and Catalonia today, the roadmap points to expansion across the EU. The team has already applied for a MiCA license, the new pan-European regulatory framework for crypto and plans to launch a Venga Token with unique utility.

Future plans include:

• More DeFi product integrations
• Expansion into new European languages and markets
• Community-driven features like crypto roundups, reward systems, and real-time tax estimation

But for now, the focus remains on serving local users with high-quality tools and speaking to them in their own language.

Final Thoughts

The crypto industry often speaks about decentralization, yet builds for a narrow user demographic, mostly English-speaking, tech-savvy individuals. Venga’s approach shows that language is not a small feature, but a core infrastructure layer for adoption.

By delivering a fully functional crypto product in Spanish and Catalan, Venga is not only expanding access but redefining how local communities can engage with the Web3 economy.

The real test will be how many users this strategy brings onboard but the direction is worth paying attention to. In the years ahead, crypto services that sound and feel local may find themselves better trusted than those that only scale globally.

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