Germany’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, is preparing to take another significant step toward cryptocurrencies. Still this year, it wants to offer institutional and corporate clients in Europe custody of bitcoin, ether, and selected stablecoins. However, the launch of the service depends on completing the regulatory process and obtaining the necessary authorization under the European MiCA rules.
Deutsche Bank plans to launch a digital asset custody service for institutional and corporate customers later this year. According to the bank’s announcement, the first clients should gain access to the new service by the end of the year, provided the relevant regulatory process is completed by then.
Initially, Deutsche Bank plans to support primarily the two largest cryptocurrencies – bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). The offering will also include several stablecoins, digital tokens whose value is pegged to a traditional currency. Specifically, these will be Circle’s dollar-pegged USDC, the euro-pegged EURC, and AllUnity’s EURAU.
But the bank’s plans don’t stop there. In the next phase, it wants to expand its infrastructure to include tokenized financial instruments as well – for example, traditional assets converted into digital tokens recorded via blockchain or other distributed ledger technology.
Article Contents:
Deutsche Bank Will Manage Wallets and Private Keys for Clients
The news does not mean that Deutsche Bank will start selling bitcoin or ether directly to ordinary customers. It is primarily what’s known as a custody service – the professional safekeeping of digital assets.
The bank will manage cryptocurrency wallets and private keys on behalf of its clients, allowing them to handle stored assets. This means institutions won’t need to build their own technical infrastructure for the secure storage of cryptocurrencies. Through Deutsche Bank’s system, they will also be able to transfer digital assets to third parties.
The solution is designed to use multiple layers of security. Deutsche Bank mentions hardware protection of keys, separation of duties, multi-person approval of operations, and separate warm and cold storage — meaning storage with varying levels of network connectivity. The infrastructure is also expected to include backup and recovery mechanisms. For some technical components, the bank will rely on external providers.
The service will initially focus on corporate and investment banking clients. Besides companies, this group is expected to include asset managers, hedge funds, brokers, other custodians, and government institutions.
Deutsche Bank Expects MiCA Authorization in October
The definitive launch of the service now depends mainly on regulators. Deutsche Bank spokesperson Heinrich Frömsdorf told Cointelegraph that the bank expects to receive the necessary authorization in October. The service is set to operate under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, MiCA.
MiCA brought common rules for companies operating in the cryptocurrency market across the European Union. Most of the regulation began to apply on December 30, 2024, while rules concerning certain stablecoins have been in force since June of that same year.
Another important milestone came on July 1, 2026, when the transitional period for previously operating cryptocurrency service providers definitively ended across the entire EU. Companies wishing to continue operating in the European market must now hold the corresponding authorization under MiCA.
It is precisely this clearer regulatory environment that may encourage other European banks to expand their digital asset services.
Don’t Miss: MiCA Is Starting to Truly Transform the Crypto Market
Deutsche Bank Has Been Preparing to Enter Crypto for Several Years
The current announcement is not Deutsche Bank’s first step toward cryptocurrencies. The bank first revealed plans for offering institutional digital asset custody back in 2023, when it partnered with the Swiss company Taurus, which specializes in digital asset infrastructure and tokenization.
Around the same time, the bank was also seeking the corresponding license for digital asset custody in Germany. The current service therefore builds on a strategy that Deutsche Bank has been developing for several years.
The bank could go even further in the future when it comes to stablecoins. Sabih Behzad, who heads the digital assets division at Deutsche Bank, said in June 2025 that the bank is exploring several ways to enter the stablecoin market. One option was even issuing its own token, or alternatively joining a broader project involving other financial institutions. The bank was also examining the possibility of creating tokenized bank deposits.
Read More: Anycoin Review
Other German Banks Are Also Entering Crypto
Deutsche Bank is not the only traditional financial institution in Germany trying to bring cryptocurrencies into standard banking infrastructure.
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) announced a strategic partnership with the Austrian cryptocurrency company Bitpanda in April 2024. It intended to use Bitpanda’s infrastructure for the custody and acquisition of bitcoin, ether, and other digital assets for corporate clients. A pilot run was planned for the second half of 2024.
Another example is DZ Bank. At the end of December 2025, it received authorization under MiCA from Germany’s regulator BaFin to operate its cryptocurrency platform, meinKrypto. The solution is intended for banks within the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken group and allows their clients to trade assets such as bitcoin, ether, litecoin, or cardano through an integrated wallet.
One of the Globally Systemically Important Banks Is Entering Crypto
The significance of Deutsche Bank’s plans also lies in its size and standing within the global financial system. The Financial Stability Board classifies it among the globally systemically important banks, known as G-SIBs. There are 29 financial institutions in total on the 2025 list.
The entry of such a large traditional bank into cryptocurrency infrastructure shows how digital assets are gradually moving from specialized crypto platforms into the services offered by established financial institutions.
Deutsche Bank’s move does not change how bitcoin or ether themselves function. For large investors, however, it may remove one of the obstacles to entering the cryptocurrency market. Institutions that don’t want to handle cryptocurrency wallets, private keys, and their security on their own will be able to entrust that part of the infrastructure to a regulated bank with which they may already use other financial services.
At the same time, Deutsche Bank itself points out that cryptocurrencies continue to carry significant risks, ranging from price volatility to fraud, cyberattacks, and the failure of other market participants. Furthermore, crypto assets are not covered by a deposit insurance system comparable to the protection offered for traditional bank deposits.
If the bank obtains the necessary regulatory authorization as expected, the first institutional clients could start using its new cryptocurrency infrastructure before the end of 2026.
Don’t Miss: MadisonSix
