Deutsche Bank awaits regulatory approval for crypto custody solutions

Deutsche Bank, the largest financial institution in Germany, announced plans on September 16 to launch a digital-asset custody service for institutional and corporate clients across Europe. The service is pending regulatory approval from BaFin, Germany’s federal financial supervisory authority, under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation framework.

What Deutsche Bank is building

The custody platform is designed to let institutional clients securely hold and transfer a curated list of digital assets. The initial lineup includes Bitcoin, Ether, and three stablecoins: USDC, EURC, and EURAU.

Security features include hardware key protection, multi-person approval workflows, and segregated storage options.

The target client base spans Deutsche Bank’s Corporate Bank and Investment Bank divisions. Think asset managers, hedge funds, custodians, brokers, and sovereign institutions.

Gerald Podobnik, Co-Head of the Corporate Bank, framed the move as additive rather than revolutionary. Digital assets, in his view, complement existing financial market infrastructure instead of replacing it.

Depending on client demand and internal risk assessments, the service could expand to include tokenized financial instruments.

Three years in the making

Deutsche Bank submitted its application for a BaFin crypto custody license back in 2023. Along the way, Deutsche Bank forged technology partnerships with two key players: Bitpanda, the Vienna-based digital asset platform, and Taurus, a Swiss digital asset infrastructure provider.

MiCA took full effect across the EU in late 2024, creating the regulatory clarity that banks like Deutsche Bank needed before committing serious resources.

The go-live target is later in 2026, subject to BaFin’s sign-off.

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