Deutsche Bank readies crypto custody in Germany, Asia in 2027

Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest lender, is preparing to switch on a crypto custody service for corporate and institutional clients at home and wants to take it to Asian financial centres in 2027, Reuters reported on Friday, as relayed by Cointelegraph and The Defiant. The German launch is expected within weeks.

What the bank is launching

• Clients: companies and institutions, not retail savers, served through the bank's corporate division.
• Assets at launch: bitcoin, ether and a short list of stablecoins — Circle's USDC and EURC, plus AllUnity EUR (EURAU), according to a September 16 Deutsche Bank press release cited by Cointelegraph.
• Licence: ESMA's interim MiCA register shows Deutsche Bank received authorisation from Germany's financial regulator BaFin on Monday. A spokesperson had earlier said approval was expected in October.
• Technology: the bank has worked with Swiss crypto infrastructure firm Taurus on custody since September 2023.

Why now

Gerald Podobnik, co-head of Deutsche Bank's corporate bank, told Reuters that the fast growth of the digital asset economy — including hundreds of billions of dollars now held in stablecoins — is behind the plan. He tied the move to the bank's goal of growing corporate banking revenue by about 8% a year through 2028.

Deutsche Bank has not said which Asian hubs it will target first; Cointelegraph said the bank had not answered that question by publication time.

The bigger picture

Large banks are moving from crypto pilots to regulated services. Standard Chartered already trades bitcoin and ether for clients in the UAE, and Europe's banking regulator recently classed USDC as a significant e-money token under MiCA. For how custody differs from holding your own keys, see how to store crypto safely and our explainer on what a stablecoin is.