Deutsche Bank has revealed it is awaiting regulatory approval before launching institutional crypto custody services. The German banking giant made the announcement on Wednesday, confirming it will support Bitcoin, Ether and a selection of stablecoins. Tokenized assets are set to follow at a later stage.
This year marks the planned launch date for the bank’s offering among its first clients, pending the finish of the relevant regulatory process. Once that timeline concludes, the service could become operational within months.
The Approval Clock
Cointelegraph reports that Heinrich Frömsdorf, who speaks for Deutsche Bank, said the bank expects to receive the license for its custody offering in October. The license approval is expected to come through the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| MiCA reaches full enforcement | July 1 |
| License expected | October |
| Go-live for first clients | This year |
What the Custody Covers
Deutsche Bank will initially support three major assets:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ether (ETH)
- Select stablecoins, including Circle’s USDC (USDC), EURC (EURC) and AllUnity’s EUR (EURAU)
The bank will add tokenized financial instruments at a later point.
A Long Road to This Point
The German lender first announced its crypto custody ambitions in 2023, through a collaboration with Taurus. It then pursued a digital asset custody license in Germany.
Deutsche Bank has confirmed it is entering the stablecoin market, a development first reported earlier this year. At that time, Sabih Behzad, the bank’s head of digital assets, said the institution was considering such a move, including issuing its own token. Wednesday’s announcement confirms that earlier reporting.
Why MiCA Matters Now
After MiCA reached full enforcement on July 1, banks in Germany expect the push toward crypto services to speed up. They have been holding back until the regulation showed them how to offer such services.
Other German Banks Are Moving Too
The Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, Germany’s biggest federal bank, entered crypto custody services in April 2024, following a partnership with Bitpanda, which provides the institution’s custody platform from Austria.
The German bank DZ Bank announced in December 2025 that it had secured permission from BaFin, the country’s financial regulator, to run its meinKrypto platform under MiCA.
The Road Ahead
The Financial Stability Board designates Deutsche Bank as one of its Global Systemically Important Banks.
The bank’s announcement is a signal that Germany’s largest economy is treating crypto as a mainstream business opportunity, not a niche curiosity. For institutional clients, the payoff is clearer: a regulated bank with a familiar name now holds their digital assets.
October’s license decision will put Deutsche Bank’s pledge to the test, and if it succeeds, Germany’s banking industry could find itself with a new leader in this new field.
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