German multinational banking behemoth Deutsche Bank is extending its crypto footprint with plans to allow its clients to store cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) next year. This move comes as global institutional adoption accelerates. Deutsche Bank Joins Forces With Bitpanda For Crypto Custody Service According to a Tuesday Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter, Deutsche Bank plans to roll out a digital assets custody service in partnership with the technology unit of Austria-based Bitpanda crypto exchange in 2026. Deutsche Bank-backed cryptocurrency infrastructure provider Taurus will also assist in the deployment of the crypto custody service. It remains unclear which specific cryptocurrencies will feature in the Bank’s crypto custody service. Bitcoin, the world’s largest and oldest cryptocurrency, is expected to be included in this service. In a research paper published in March, Deutsche Bank hailed the US for its decision to launch a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, noting that it could help solve the national debt crisis. The German financial giant has been brewing plans to offer crypto custody and trading services to its customers since 2020, and applied for a digital asset custody license from Germany’s financial regulator, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, in 2023. Deutsche Bank’s upcoming custody initiative comes amid increasing institutional interest in digital assets, spurred by clearer EU rules under MiCA and a more lenient U.S. posture under the Trump administration. The bank is also assessing whether to foray into the stablecoin sector, including issuing its own token or joining an industry initiative, as more traditional financial players are increasingly moving into the fast-growing industry. “We can certainly see the momentum of stablecoins along with a regulatory supportive environment, especially in the US,” Deutsche Bank’s head of digital assets, Sabih Behzad, said earlier this month. “Banks have a wide variety of options available to engage in the stablecoin industry — everything from acting as a reserve manager, through to issuing their own stablecoin, either alone or in a consortium.” Moreover, Deutsche Bank has teamed up with the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian to explore an interoperable blockchain platform that provides services to tokenized and digital funds.
