Deutsche Bank to offer Bitcoin Custody to Institutional Partners
Deutsche Bank, Germany’s premier financial institution, has teamed up with Swiss Bitcoin-startup, Taurus. The collaboration comes on the heels of Deutsche Bank’s efforts for a Bitcoin custody license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the chief financial regulator in Germany.
According to the statement, Taurus excels at delivering top-tier infrastructure for Bitcoin issuance, custody management, and trading. Their suite encompasses bitcoins, tokenised assets, and unique digital assets (NFTs).
For an extended period, Deutsche Bank has keenly observed the Bitcoin landscape, signaling its goal to extend Bitcoin custody and trading offerings to its clientele. And the bank submitted an application for a digital asset custody license to BaFin in June this year.
A notable stake in Taurus by Deutsche Bank earlier this year, as part of a $65 million Series B funding round in tandem with Credit Suisse, Arab Bank Switzerland, and Pictet Group, significantly moulded this partnership.
Story continues below…
Deutshce Bank Looking to Explore The Entire Digital Asset Space
Deutsche Bank’s global head of securities services, Paul Maley, affirmed their vision to broaden their scope to tokenised financial instruments of all kinds in what they believe will be ‘trillions of dollars of assets.’.
“As the digital asset space is expected to encompass trillions of dollars of assets, it’s bound to be seen as one of the priorities for investors and corporations alike,” said Maley. “Our focus is not just on cryptocurrencies, but supporting our clients in the overall digital assets ecosystem.”
Maley said Deutsche Bank was working “cautiously and in line with the spirit and the letter of the regulations governing this asset class,” but he emphasized the pivotal role of regulatory clarity in Europe and Asia in guiding their foray into this territory.
Deutsche Bank Long Been Bullish on Bitcoin
Deutsche Bank may be a struggling, but its foray into Bitcoin isn’t the first for the German giant as it likely sees Bitcoin as a lifeline for the troubled bank.
Back in 2021, it was one of the first banks to publish anything positive about Bitcoin, when it published a 19-page report, saying Bitcoin was ‘too important to ignore.’ The report pointed out ‘Bitcoin’s limited supply,’ saying it was a big factor in its rise in valuation, much to the cause of central banks willingness to print.
Then last year, the bank invested in Frankfurt-based crypto exchange-traded products provider, Deutsche Digital Assets, and crypto market making firm Tradias in a bid to get involved in the crypto space.
