BREAKING: Deutsche Bank Applies for Bafin License to Offer Crypto Custodial Services

The recent regulatory crackdown by financial regulators in the West hasn’t deterred big players from making a move in the crypto space. Germany’s largest bank Deutsche Bank AG has recently applied for regulatory permission to offer custodial services for digital assets such as cryptocurrencies.

David Lynne, who runs the lender’s commercial banking unit, said that this move comes as part of Deutsche Bank’s wider strategy to increase fee income for its corporate unit. Furthermore, it also highlights the bank’s efforts to increase income for its investment arm DWS Group, from offering associated with digital assets. Speaking to Bloomberg, Lynne said:

“We’re building out our digital assets and custody business. We just put our application into the Bafin for the digital asset license”.

This is not the first time that Deutsche Bank is making a move towards offering digital assets custodial solutions. It made a similar attempt back in 2020 but never specified when it plans to open the services.

With institutional player participation rising in the crypto space, the demand for regulated custodial solutions providers will rise. Thus, Deutsche Bank is making the move at the right time when big players like BlackRock and Fidelity are already showing an intent to make an entry into crypto.

Deutsche Bank, Germany, and Crypto

The recent move from Deutsche Bank just months after the bank faced a major liquidity crisis earlier this year in March, during the fall of Credit Suisse. However, the German banking giant managed to sail through this confidently and seems to be on a strong footing.

On the other hand, German regulators have also been working to ease up rules for crypto staking and lending. Also, the regulatory developments will streamline further with the introduction of the MiCA laws.

Crypto adoption by German citizens has been growing up steadily and will further rise following regulatory clarity.