By cryptoadmin Spain’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Bit2Me has set up a separate company to help courts, police and financial institutions trace, seize, store and sell crypto.
The new unit, Bit2Shield, is legally registered as CryptoShield S.L and will assist investigators during searches and seizures by extracting wallet data, locating crypto and producing digitally signed forensic reports for use in court, Bit2Me said in a statement shared with CoinDesk.
Bit2Shield will also investigate fraud, certify the source of funds and train police officers, judges and banks.
The move formalizes work Bit2Me was already carrying out for public authorities. The company processed 1.5 million euros ($1.74 million) of seized crypto in 2025 for agencies including Interpol, Europol and Spanish police. It used blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis to trace the assets before converting them into euros for the state.
Bit2Shield will arrange for seized assets to be stored in cold wallets that require multiple signatures and arrange their sale when ordered by authorities. The proceeds will be sent in euros to government bank accounts.
The new unit extends Bit2Me’s push beyond retail trading into infrastructure for banks and public bodies.
Bit2Me, whose backers include Bankinter, Unicaja, Cecabank, Telefónica and Tether, said Bit2Shield is not a crypto service provider under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets rules because it focuses on investigations, forensics and training.
Any conversion of crypto into euros will instead be handled by Bitcoinforme S.L., Bit2Me’s entity authorized by Spain’s securities regulator under MiCA.
Adrián Maroño, a former member of the Spanish Civil Guard’s Central Operational Unit, or UCO, will lead Bit2Shield’s investigations.