Deutsche Bank Readies German Crypto Custody Launch With Asia Expansion Planned for 2027

Germany’s largest lender is preparing to debut digital asset custody at home and then take the service to Asian financial centers in 2027. Gerald Podobnik, co head of the bank’s corporate bank, told Reuters that the fast growth of the digital asset economy, including hundreds of billions of dollars sitting in stablecoins, is behind the plan. He added that the move supports a target of 8% compound annual growth in corporate banking by 2028. The bank has not said which Asian hubs it will target first.

Supported Assets and Regulatory Approval

At launch, the service will handle Bitcoin, Ether and selected stablecoins, including USDC, EURC and AllUnity’s EURAU. A bank spokesperson earlier said approval under the EU’s MiCA rules was expected in October, and the regulator’s interim register shows Germany’s financial watchdog BaFin granted authorization on Monday.

Taurus Partnership Behind the Custody Plans

The effort builds on a partnership signed in September 2023 with crypto infrastructure platform Taurus, which was set up to support the bank’s custody ambitions for institutional and corporate clients.