Deutsche Bank is breaking new ground for investors with crypto custody!

Deutsche Bank is breaking new ground for investors with crypto custody!

Deutsche Bank plans to enter crypto custody in 2026 and will thus offer institutional customers regulated and secure access to digital assets. A spokesman for the bank emphasized the creation of a comprehensive and trustworthy crypto custody offering, which is being developed in cooperation with Bitpanda, a leading crypto exchange in Europe. Details about the supported cryptocurrencies have not yet been announced. This initiative is not Deutsche Bank's first foray into the world of cryptocurrencies; The crypto offering has already been expanded in the USA in collaboration with Standard Chartered.

The commitment to crypto custody is in line with a trend where traditional financial players in Germany are becoming increasingly open to digital assets. The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe is planning an advice-free crypto offering to enable its customers to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies directly. Other banks, such as Volksbanken and Schweizer Postbank, also already offer crypto products. In the USA, banks such as JPMorgan and Bank of America are working on their own stablecoins.

Crypto innovations at DZ Bank

Deutsche Bank's commitment is complemented by the activities of DZ Bank, the third largest bank in Germany by assets. This has launched a blockchain-based platform for the custody of digital assets, which was announced on November 2nd. This new platform will work with institutional clients and offer crypto securities, including a crypto bond from Siemens that was subscribed six months ago.

Holger Meffert, head of securities services and digital custody at DZ Bank, commented on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and expects that in the next ten years a significant part of capital market business will be processed via DLT infrastructures. This technology is viewed as complementary to existing capital market processes. DZ Bank also plans to enable both institutional investors and private customers to purchase cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

In June 2023, an application was made to BaFin for a crypto custody license, underscoring the bank's official ambition to become active in this area. German banks, as a whole, are showing a notable shift towards cryptocurrencies, despite strict regulation. Deutsche SecuritiesServiceBank launched the crypto trading platform wpNex in March 2023, which offers 1,200 banks and savings banks access to the digital asset industry. At the same time, DWS, majority owned by Deutsche Bank, is working on exchange-traded crypto products and digital solutions for investors. Commerzbank and DekaBank are also seeking a crypto custody license from BaFin.

In light of these developments, it is clear that German banks' interest and activity in the cryptocurrency space is steadily increasing, indicating a profound change in the financial sector.

For further information visit BTC ECHO and Cointelegraph.