Deutsche Bank (@DeutscheBank) plans to launch crypto custody in Germany within weeks. It will be the lender's first digital asset service, with a rollout to Asian financial centers planned fo
Deutsche Bank (@DeutscheBank) plans to launch crypto custody in Germany within weeks. It will be the lender's first digital asset service, with a rollout to Asian financial centers planned for next year, according to Gerald Podobnik, co-head of corporate banking, in an interview with Reuters in Bangkok.
The service will start with $BTC, $ETH and stablecoins, including $USDC, $EURC and EURAU, for institutional and corporate clients. The launch still depends on the regulatory process being completed.
The initial product is designed for custody rather than trading. It is not a bank-run crypto trading platform, and is built to manage wallets and private keys for clients before connecting to a wider roadmap of stablecoin money movement, tokenized deposits and blockchain-based securities.
Podobnik said the bank also plans to help clients move money into and out of mainstream stablecoins, offer tokenized deposits and support the issuance of blockchain-based securities such as digital bonds, according to a summary of the Reuters interview.The bank has not named its first clients or published a public go-live date.
Podobnik has framed the effort as part of the corporate bank's growth plan. The initiative forms part of a strategy to deliver 8% compound annual growth in corporate banking by 2028.He described the services as additions to traditional offerings, not necessarily a replacement for what the bank does today.
The timing hinges on approval under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. A Deutsche Bank spokesperson told Cointelegraph the bank expects to receive the license for the custody offering in October.
The project has been years in the making. Deutsche Bank first revealed plans for crypto custody in 2023 as part of a partnership with Taurus, soon after applying for a digital asset custody license in Germany.The bank is developing the platform with Bitpanda Technology Solutions, the infrastructure arm of the Austrian exchange Bitpanda.
Other German lenders are already in the market. Landesbank Baden-Württemberg began offering crypto custody in April 2024 through a partnership with Bitpanda, and DZ Bank said in December 2025 it received BaFin authorization under MiCA to operate its meinKrypto platform.The push into crypto services is expected to accelerate after MiCA reached full enforcement on July 1.
For institutional investors, a regulated bank offering custody removes the need to build their own wallet infrastructure or rely solely on crypto-native providers. Whether demand materializes will depend on pricing, onboarding and how quickly the later services follow.
Cointelegraph: Deutsche Bank Awaits Regulatory Nod for Institutional Crypto CustodyCoindoo: Deutsche Bank Crypto Custody Launch Is Weeks AwayFinimize: Deutsche Bank Is Getting Ready To Hold Clients' Crypto
