German financial giants officially enter the cryptocurrency custody business.
According to (Bloomberg), Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, plans to launch digital asset custody services in 2026. This plan will integrate the technological infrastructure of the Austrian cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda while continuing its partnership with Swiss digital asset infrastructure provider Taurus SA.
According to informed sources, the custody service will be led by Deutsche Bank's corporate banking division, providing comprehensive solutions for businesses and institutional clients for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Deutsche Bank expressed its ambition to enter the cryptocurrency custody market as early as 2020 and officially announced this custody service plan in 2022. The bank will collaborate with Bitpanda Technology Solutions to build the necessary technical architecture, which is the technology arm of the Vienna-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda. Bitpanda, as one of Europe's largest and most strictly regulated cryptocurrency brokers, claims to have 20 million customers, a significant proportion of which is from the German market.
At the same time, Deutsche Bank will maintain its long-term partnership with Swiss Taurus SA. Founded in 2018, Taurus provides enterprise-level infrastructure for over 25 institutional clients, assisting with the issuance, custody, and trading of digital assets.
The improvement of the regulatory environment in Europe and the United States drives institutional adoption.
Deutsche Bank's custody plans reflect the growing interest of mainstream financial institutions in digital assets, driven primarily by supportive regulatory frameworks in Europe and the United States. The EU's MiCA regulation provides clearer regulatory guidance, while the Trump administration's return to power has made the U.S. policy stance on digital assets more friendly, appointing several supporters of digital assets to regulatory positions and advancing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency-related legislation.
Sabih Behzad, head of Deutsche Bank's digital asset division, stated in June this year that the bank is considering entering the stablecoin market, including issuing its own stablecoin or participating in stablecoin projects. He noted, ‘We do see momentum in the development of stablecoins, coupled with supportive regulatory environments, especially in the United States. Banks have various options to participate in the stablecoin industry, from acting as reserve managers to issuing their own stablecoins independently or jointly.’
In addition, Deutsche Bank is also evaluating the possibility of developing its own tokenized deposit solution for the payment industry. At the end of last year, the bank reportedly started using ZKsync technology to develop a second-layer blockchain based on Ethereum. These initiatives show that Deutsche Bank is comprehensively laying out its digital asset business, not limited to custody services.
The German banking industry is competing to lay out cryptocurrency services.
Deutsche Bank's initiative is not an isolated case; the German banking industry is experiencing a wave of competition in cryptocurrency services. Another German financial giant, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, announced plans to launch cryptocurrency trading services for its 50 million customers, expected to start next summer. The actions of these two major German banks will significantly boost institutional adoption, considering the scale of clients served by these institutions.
On an international level, JPMorgan, the largest bank in the United States, plans to issue $JPMD tokens and will pilot on the Ethereum second layer network Base. These developments show that traditional financial institutions are actively embracing the cryptocurrency industry, expanding institutional access to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies through regulatory-compliant channels.
Further Reading
JPMorgan applies for JPMD cryptocurrency platform trademark! There will be trading operations, what is the investment bank planning?
Deutsche Bank's entry into the custody market is part of a broader strategy to increase fee income and echoes its investment division DWS Group's similar efforts in the digital asset industry. In 2023, the bank applied for a digital asset custody license in Germany and plans to launch cryptocurrency custody options in collaboration with Taurus.
Currently, the market is digesting the impact of expanding institutional access through regulated custody solutions. Deutsche Bank's formal entry could significantly broaden institutions' opportunities to access Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies through regulated channels, bringing more traditional financial capital into the digital asset market.
‘Germany's two major banks make moves! Digital asset custody and trading will be launched in 2026, aiming for the cryptocurrency market’ was first published in ‘Crypto City’
