DZ Bank launches blockchain-based crypto custody platform

DZ Bank AG, one of Germany’s largest financial institutions, has entered the crypto custody space by unveiling its digital assets custody platform, underpinned by blockchain technology.

The move comes as part of a broader trend in the German banking sector towards offering cryptocurrency services despite regulatory challenges.

DZ Bank crypto custody platform

DZ Bank’s newly launched digital assets custody platform is designed to cater to institutional clients, granting them access to crypto securities.

Among the assets offered is the crypto bond issued by Siemens, a notable player in the industry.

Holger Meffert, Head of Securities Services & Digital Custody at DZ Bank, expressed the institution’s commitment to distributed ledger technology (DLT), stating that the bank assumes that “within the next ten years, a significant proportion of capital market business will be processed via distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based infrastructures. In the medium term, we see DLT as a complementary technology to the established infrastructures in the existing capital market processes.”

Future crypto plans amid regulatory hurdles

DZ Bank has aspirations beyond institutional clients. They plan to extend their services to include not only institutional investors but also private customers interested in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

To achieve this, the bank applied for a crypto custody license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in June 2023.

This development aligns with the growing interest of traditional German banks in the cryptocurrency domain. Earlier in 2023, Deutsche WertpapierServiceBank (Dwpbank) entered the crypto trading platforms space by launching the wpNex crypto trading platform, granting access to the digital asset industry for 1,200 banks and savings banks in Germany.

Additionally, asset management group DWS, majority-owned by Deutsche Bank, announced its foray into the European market with exchange-traded products of cryptocurrencies and other digital solutions geared towards investor access to blockchain applications and digital assets.

In a similar vein, Commerzbank and DekaBank, among others, are actively pursuing crypto custody licenses from Germany’s financial watchdog, BaFin.

aDespite the regulatory landscape, the German banking sector appears to be embracing the cryptocurrency wave, making strides towards offering crypto-related services to customers and institutional clients alike.