Overview
- The bank, which announced the plan Wednesday, said it expects to launch a custody service later in 2026 but will not start operations until it completes MiCA notifications and BaFin/Bundesbank reviews.
- Deutsche Bank named five initial assets it intends to support: Bitcoin, Ether, USDC, EURC and the euro token EURAU, with the asset list subject to change after internal approvals and client demand.
- The service will place wallet and private‑key management with the bank using layered controls such as hardware key protection, separate warm and cold storage and multi‑person approval for transfers.
- The offering targets institutional and corporate clients in Germany and Europe, including asset managers, hedge funds, brokers, custodians and sovereign institutions, and will be custody‑only at launch with no retail accounts, trading venue, staking or lending announced.
- Deutsche Bank plans to use third‑party infrastructure providers for parts of the platform and sees tokenized financial instruments as a later expansion, while warning that crypto holdings held in custody do not carry standard bank deposit guarantees and pose market and operational risks.