DZ Bank Digital Assets Ventures

Germany's DZ Bank, ranking as the country's second-largest bank by asset size, has recently launched its own digital assets custody platform leveraging blockchain technology.

The platform is designed for institutional clients, providing them with access to crypto securities, including the Siemens crypto bond, which the bank subscribed to half a year ago.

Holger Meffert, head of securities services and digital custody at DZ Bank, is optimistic about the future of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the realm of capital market operations:

“We assume 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.”

DZ Bank has also expressed its intention to enable both institutional investors and private customers to purchase cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin being one of the potential options.

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

German Banking Sector

Despite Germany's strict regulatory framework, the country's banking sector has been witnessing a shift towards crypto adoption.

Deutsche WertpapierServiceBank (DWSB) took a step earlier this year with the launch of its wpNex crypto trading platform, granting access to the digital asset industry for 1,200 banks and savings banks in Germany.

Additionally, DWS, a major asset management group owned by Deutsche Bank, is actively developing various digital solutions to provide investors with access to blockchain applications and digital assets.

Expanding Interest in Crypto

Apart from DZ Bank, other traditional banking institution like Commerzbank has also demonstrated a keen interest in obtaining crypto custody licenses from Germany's financial regulatory authority, BaFin.

This growing interest among financial players underscores the increasing significance of cryptocurrencies in the global financial landscape.