Germany’s DZ Bank has announced the launch of a digital asset custody platform for institutions. This development follows the bank’s application to the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) earlier this year for a crypto custody licence, which will allow it to offer more cryptocurrency services. Currently, DZ Bank is able to service crypto securities issued under Germany’s Electronic Securities Act (eWpG).
With €300 billion in assets under custody, DZ Bank is the third largest custodian in Germany, after BNP Paribas and State Street. According to Ledger Insights, a part of the push behind the bank’s digital custody plans is client demand.
Holger Meffert, its head of securities services and digital custody, has said that the bank sees DLT as “a complementary technology to the established infrastructures in the existing capital market processes” in the medium term, but expects it role in processing capital market business to become much more significant in the next 10 years.
