Crypto adoption in the realm of the financial market is significantly surging to the next level, and countries like the U.K. and Hong Kong, among many others, are in a race to become Web3 hubs. However, the recent crypto adoption by one of the largest German banks has garnered everyone’s attention.
DZ Bank’s innovative blockchain-based custody platform
Recently, Germany’s third largest bank, DZ Bank, launched its blockchain-based digital asset custody platform. According to the recent announcement by DZ Bank, this blockchain-based custody platform caters to institutional clients and will offer crypto securities and related products, such as crypto bonds from Siemens. This collaboration with Siemens occurred six months ago.
Crypto adoption in the realm of capital markets is surging significantly, thanks in part to the potential approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. It has also been observed that 700,000 new BTC addresses were created in a single day, as reported by Todayq News.
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DZ Bank’s strategic focus on blockchain technology
The bank has been consistently working on blockchain technology for a year, but since 2022, it has started building a digital custody platform for institutional customers. Dr. Holger Meffert, Head of Securities Services & Digital Custody at DZ BANK, said,
“We assume that within the next ten years, a significant proportion of capital market business will be processed via distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based infrastructures. In the medium term, we see DLT as a complementary technology to the established infrastructures in the existing capital market processes.”
DZ Bank’s customer-centric approach
Furthermore, to offer customers the opportunity to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin in the future, DZ Bank also applied for a crypto custody license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in June. In addition to solutions for institutional customers, the bank is also developing an option for private customers to invest directly in cryptocurrencies.
Previously, the bank also gained experience as a processor and custodian for external transactions involving crypto fund shares from Bankhaus Metzler.
In both cases, they fall within the scope of the Electronic Securities Act (eWpG), making custody possible with the existing licenses. With its existing infrastructure, the bank actively participated in the European Central Bank’s (ECB) exploration phase, where the bank tested the settlement of large-volume capital market transactions in central bank money.