DekaBank, one of Germany’s largest banks with over $370 billion in assets, has launched its cryptocurrency services for institutional clients.
According to a Bloomberg report, the German bank will now offer cryptocurrency buying, selling, custody, and management for its institutional clients. The service explicitly excluded retail investors.
The bank’s crypto services will cater to the growing demand from institutional clients, like pension funds, insurance companies, and family offices, which have increasingly sought exposure to digital assets. The platform will offer such clients a range of crypto-related services, including trading, custody, and investment solutions.
DekaBank Obtains License to Trade Crypto
Martin K. Müller, a member of the DekaBank Board of Management, revealed in the announcement:
“We have the necessary experience, required licenses, and a tested, ready-to-use infrastructure to support savings banks and our institutional clients.”
DekaBank’s latest move comes after the platform secured regulatory approval for a crypto custody license from Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). This license enables the bank to provide secure and compliant custody services for digital assets.
Furthermore, as a licensed institution, DekaBank operates under the strict oversight of the European Central Bank (ECB), ensuring high standards of regulatory compliance and risk management.
As the asset manager for Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, one of the largest financial services groups in the country, DekaBank is highlighting security and regulatory compliance as key features of its new crypto offering, targeting institutional investors seeking a reliable and trustworthy solution.
This development marks a significant milestone in traditional financial institutions’ adoption of digital assets, with a major traditional bank like DekaBank entering the market.
DekaBank’s entry into the crypto market is expected to boost the industry, as it offers a platform for institutional investors to access cryptocurrencies.
German Banks Make Way into Crypto
DekaBank’s decision to launch crypto services is seen as a strategic move to stay ahead of the curve in the rapidly evolving financial landscape, where other German banks have joined the crypto bandwagon.
In a similar development, another German bank, Commerzbank, partnered with Crypto Finance, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse, to provide its corporate clients with crypto assets like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).
