Deutsche Bank close to debuting crypto custody for institutions — SkimNews
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- Deutsche Bank plans to launch a digital asset custody service for European institutional and corporate clients by the end of 2026, subject to the completion of regulatory checks.
- The service will initially support a limited set of cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, ether, and the USDC and EURC stablecoins.
- Germany's largest bank joins European peers Standard Chartered and BBVA, which already offer regulated cryptocurrency custody to institutional clients.
- Gerald Podobnik, co-head of corporate bank at Deutsche, said in Wednesday's announcement that digital assets are "not a replacement for the traditional financial system but an important complement to it."
- Deutsche Bank was reported last July to be preparing the custody service alongside Austrian crypto exchange Bitpanda for a 2026 debut.
Why it matters: By entering regulated crypto custody, Deutsche Bank gives European institutions a custody option from a balance-sheet-grade bank they already use for traditional assets — reducing the need to route digital holdings through crypto-native firms. The end-of-2026 launch window puts it behind Standard Chartered and BBVA in Europe but ahead of most global peers still building similar offerings.
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