Deutsche Bank crypto custody is now live for paying clients, letting corporate and institutional customers in Europe hold Bitcoin, Ether and three stablecoins with Germany’s largest lender. Deutsche Bank said on Wednesday that the service had gone live, Reuters reported, about eight weeks after it announced the plan and a month after its MiCA notification date.
What the Deutsche Bank crypto custody service covers
The bank first set out the service in a Sept. 16 media release. At launch it supports Bitcoin and Ether plus three stablecoins or e-money tokens: USDC, EURC and EURAU. Deutsche Bank holds the wallets and private keys on the client’s behalf, and clients can move assets to third parties. Tokenized financial instruments are on the roadmap but not part of the launch.
The bank’s digital asset custody page describes private keys stored in hardware security modules, warm and cold storage, segregated client assets and access through Autobahn, the bank’s multi-channel client gateway. The services listed are custody, transfers and internal moves between warm and cold wallets. Nothing on the page offers trading, so a client that wants to buy Bitcoin still needs a broker or exchange before Deutsche Bank can hold it.
The September release named the target clients as corporates, asset managers, hedge funds, custodians, brokers and sovereign institutions served by the Corporate Bank and Investment Bank. Retail customers are excluded. The bank also warned that crypto assets are not covered by a deposit guarantee comparable to the one that applies to eligible bank deposits.
Paul Maley, global head of trust and securities services, set out a wider goal. “In the medium term we aim to deliver a fully integrated, regulated ecosystem that supports the custody, tokenisation, and settlement of digital assets,” he said, according to Reuters. Deutsche Bank has previously told Reuters it wants to take the service to Asia.
The bank did not name its first clients or disclose fees, crypto.news noted.
The MiCA paperwork behind it
The legal basis sits in the interim MiCA register kept by ESMA, the EU securities regulator. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft appears there with BaFin as its supervisor and a notification date of Oct. 12, 2026. The entry covers two services, custody and administration of crypto assets for clients and transfer services, and lists all 30 European Economic Area countries for cross-border provision. No exchange or order-execution service appears against it.
The entry is filed under Article 60 of MiCA, the route that lets banks and other already-licensed firms notify their regulator rather than apply for a separate crypto license. It is a crowded route. The register lists more than 150 Article 60 entries, roughly 70 of them German Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks.
Deutsche Bank is late among the big names. Commerzbank’s entry for custody and transfers is dated April 7, 2025. DZ Bank, the central institution for Germany’s cooperative banks, is dated Dec. 23, 2025 and also covers order execution. Spain’s BBVA has an entry from March 2025, and Societe Generale’s crypto unit Forge from October 2025.
Who built it, and what comes next
Deutsche Bank has said only that selected external technology providers handle defined parts of the system. It has worked with Swiss custody technology firm Taurus since 2023, and Bloomberg reported in July 2025 that Bitpanda’s technology unit had been brought in to help build the service.
The bank also said on Wednesday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Deutsche Asset Management, the fund manager it mostly owns and which until recently traded as DWS. The aim is “to explore comprehensive commercial and technical collaboration opportunities in the digital asset space,” according to Reuters. No products were announced.
Separately, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, that the banks behind Project Faro, a planned bank-backed stablecoin issuer whose participants include Deutsche Bank, have committed about $270 million to cover five years of running costs. The banks have not confirmed that figure.
The launch adds a large European bank to a short list of regulated custodians that now hold crypto for institutions on both sides of the Atlantic. In the U.S., Coinbase National Trust received final OCC approval for federal crypto custody. For Deutsche Bank, the things to watch are named clients, fee levels, and whether tokenized securities and an Asian rollout arrive on the schedule it has signalled.
FAQ
Which assets can Deutsche Bank clients hold?
Bitcoin, Ether, USDC, EURC and EURAU at launch. The bank has said it may add assets over time, and tokenized financial instruments are on its roadmap.
Can retail customers use the service?
No. It is for clients of Deutsche Bank’s Corporate Bank and Investment Bank, such as corporates, asset managers, hedge funds, brokers and sovereign institutions.
Can clients buy crypto through it?
Not according to the bank’s materials. The service covers custody and transfers, and its MiCA register entry lists no exchange or execution service.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
