Major German bank DZ to test retail Bitcoin trading

9 months ago 50

Virtual currency trading service exam

Souad Benkleda, a member of the board of directors of major German bank DZ Bank, said on the 1st that the company will enter a pilot phase for retail trading of crypto assets (virtual currencies) in 2024.

The company aims to make transaction services available at the 737 community banks served by DZ Bank. These banks have a total of approximately 30 million retail customers.

The decision to introduce virtual currency trading services will be left to each community bank’s choice. “About half of banks are willing to offer crypto solutions,” Benkleda said, citing a survey by the cooperative banking association Genoverband.

DZ Bank manages approximately 92 trillion yen ($627 billion) in assets and is Germany’s second largest bank based on assets.

Last November, DZ Bank launched a platform for processing and storing digital financial products for institutional clients. First, we will take custody of digital securities (security tokens).

The company is also applying to the German financial regulator BaFin for a custody license for virtual currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). Regarding the custody of digital assets, DZ Bank has partnered with Metaco, a Swiss cryptocurrency custody company and a subsidiary of Ripple Inc.

What is custody?

Refers to holding and managing assets on behalf of investors. Refers to services that perform a wide range of tasks on your behalf, such as asset storage, settlement related to buying and selling, receipt of principal, interest, and dividends, and the exercise of voting rights. A company that performs custody is called a “custodian.”

Virtual currency glossary

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Megabanks also enter virtual currency

In Germany, megabank Commerzbank has also begun to enter virtual currencies. In November of last year, it obtained a virtual currency custody license.

connection: German megabank “Comerzbank” obtains virtual currency custody license

Since September last year, Germany’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, has partnered with Taurus, a Swiss company known for its digital asset custody. The company plans to expand into virtual currency storage services and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization businesses.

Real asset tokenization involves tokenizing real assets (real world assets, RWA) such as real estate, securities, bank deposits, precious metals, and works of art on the blockchain. Currently, it is attracting increasing attention from various financial institutions and government authorities.

connection: Deutsche Bank partners with Taurus to manage cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets

connection: What is the impact of real asset (RWA) tokenization on the crypto asset market? | WebX Report

Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Bayern Mitte is also a German regional bank that also offers Bitcoin investment services.