Crypto15 September, 20262 min read
Deutsche Bank Plans October MiCA License for Institutional Crypto Custody With Bitcoin, Ether
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Deutsche Bank targets October MiCA license to offer European institutional crypto custody. Offering will custody Bitcoin, Ether, and select stablecoins for institutions, with wallet management.
9 outlets told this the same way.
Deutsche Bank readies custody
Deutsche Bank is positioning itself to launch regulated digital asset custody for institutional and corporate clients in Europe, with a license under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets framework expected as soon as October. The bank said it is preparing to onboard its first institutional and corporate clients this year once the regulatory process concludes, and that the initial offering will cover custody for Bitcoin, Ether, and a curated set of stablecoins including Circle’s USDC and EURC, along with AllUnity’s EURAU.
Deutsche Bank’s spokesperson Heinrich Frömsdorf told Cointelegraph that the bank anticipates receiving the custody license in October under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets regulation. The bank said its custody platform is built around institutional-grade controls including hardware-protected key generation, separate warm and cold storage environments, segregation of duties, multi-person transaction approvals, and controlled backup and recovery systems.
Podobnik frames “new rails”
Deutsche Bank said the service will provide institutional and corporate clients in Europe with secure and regulated custody services for selected digital assets, with go-live for first clients this year subject to completion of the applicable regulatory timeline. Gerald Podobnik, Co-Head Corporate Bank, said, “Digital assets are not a replacement for the traditional financial system but an important complement to it,” and added that the bank aims to offer “clients a secure and regulated gateway to this evolving market.”
The bank said it will manage the wallets and private keys on clients' behalf, reducing the need for clients to build and maintain their own custody infrastructure. According to the bank’s announcement, the solution includes secure key generation and hardware-based protection, segregation of duties, multi-person approval processes, separate warm and cold storage environments, a redundant technical setup, and controlled backup and recovery arrangements.
MiCA timing and expansion
Deutsche Bank said the planned digital asset custody service remains subject to the completion of the applicable regulatory process, and that the timing, geographical availability, supported assets and scope of the service may change as a result of regulatory requirements, internal approvals, market developments or client demand. The bank’s plans also place tokenized financial instruments on a later roadmap, while initial support at launch includes Bitcoin and Ether and selected stable coins or e-money tokens including USDC and EURC, EURAU.
Cointelegraph reported that Deutsche Bank expects to receive the license for the custody offering in October under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets framework, and that the push to pursue crypto services is expected to accelerate after MiCA reached full enforcement on July 1. The Financial Stability Board’s designation of Deutsche Bank as a Global Systemically Important Bank is cited alongside the expectation that its approvals and timelines carry industry weight beyond Germany’s borders.