Deutsche Bank launches crypto custody for companies and institutions

Germany’s largest lender, Deutsche Bank, launched its crypto custody service for institutional and corporate clients on Wednesday, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

The bank also signed a memorandum of understanding with Deutsche Asset Management, its majority-owned asset manager, to explore collaboration on tokenized money market funds, crypto asset exchange-traded commodities and stablecoins.

Deutsche Bank announced plans to offer the service to institutional and corporate clients in Europe on Sept. 16, pending regulatory clearance. Deutsche Bank’s listing for crypto custody and transfer services in the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) register is dated Oct. 12 and names Germany’s BaFin as its regulator.

The service initially supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and select stablecoins, including Circle’s USDC (USDC) and EURC (EURC), as well as AllUnity EURAU.

Gerald Podobnik, co-head of Deutsche Bank’s corporate bank, told Reuters in October that the bank planned to launch in Germany before expanding to Asian financial centers in 2027.

Deutsche Bank partnered with crypto infrastructure provider Taurus in 2023 to develop custody services after applying for a digital asset custody license in Germany.

Related: Deutsche Bank-backed AllUnity launches Swiss franc stablecoin CHFAU