Deutsche Bank plans to launch crypto custody in Germany within weeks and take it to Asia in 2027

Deutsche Bank will launch its crypto custody service in Germany in the coming weeks and extend it to Asia in 2027, corporate bank co-head Bernd Podobnik told Reuters. BaFin granted the bank authorisation under the EU's MiCA rules on 12 October, according to ESMA's interim register; the German launch remains subject to regulatory approval.

The service lets corporate and institutional clients hold and transfer cryptocurrencies with the bank managing wallets and private keys. It starts with bitcoin, ether and the stablecoins USDC, EURC and EURAU, with stablecoin conversion, tokenised deposits and help for clients issuing digital bonds and other blockchain-based securities to follow.

The rollout is part of a target of roughly 8% compound annual revenue growth in the corporate bank from 2025 to 2028. Deutsche Bank has worked with Bitpanda and other partners on its digital asset build-out; which Asian markets come first has not been said.

The read: a global custodian with a MiCA licence turns institutional crypto in Europe from a question of whether into a question of which bank.