DekaBank has become the first bank to receive a full crypto registrar license from Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin. This follows its earlier achievement as the first organisation to issue a crypto security and its prior status with a provisional crypto registrar license.
This comes in the wake of Germany’s Electronic Securities Act (eWpG), which came into effect in 2021. The eWpG allows securities such as stocks and bonds to be issued on a blockchain, eliminating the need for a central securities depository (CSD). Unlike cryptocurrencies, these ‘crypto’ securities require a crypto registrar, which performs a more limited role compared to a CSD.
DekaBank serves as the securities house for Germany’s savings banks. Its pioneering role in the issuance of crypto securities underscores its commitment to advancing tokenisation, reports Ledger Insights. Notably, DekaBank launched the SWIAT blockchain network, designed to support tokenisation applications across various institutions. SWIAT’s backers include LBBW and SC Ventures from Standard Chartered, with one solution specifically enabling the issuance of digital savings bank bonds.
100 issuances
In a broader context, the issuance of crypto securities in Germany reached a significant milestone this week, with the total number hitting 100. This includes recent blockchain bond issuances by KfW, with DekaBank as an investor, and mutual crypto security issuances between DekaBank and DZ Bank as part of the European Central Bank’s wholesale DLT settlement trials. The official count stood at 97 before these transactions, marking an important growth indicator in the market.