Deutsche Bank, the largest bank in Germany, has been preparing a cryptocurrency custody service for institutions for a few months. Ultimately, the bank also plans to create a platform for the exchange and issuance of tokens.
Deutsche Bank enters the world of cryptocurrencies
World Economic Forum report titled „Crypto, What It’s For: An Overview of Cryptocurrency Use Cases“ Outlines That Deutsche Bank Plans To Launch A Cryptocurrency Custody Service In 2021 .
As the media Bitcoin Code indicates , the arrival of the largest German bank in the world of cryptocurrencies has curiously passed under the radar, the report having been published in December 2020.
“Deutsche Bank aims to develop a custody platform that is fully suited to institutional clients and their digital assets, providing seamless connectivity to the larger cryptocurrency ecosystem,” the report read.
Deutsche Bank’s goal is clear. The bank wishes to offer its clients a cold storage solution of institutional quality , which will be accompanied by insurance cover.
This new ecosystem for cryptocurrencies will be launched in 4 stages, and will go beyond the “simple” conservation of funds.
The first phase will effectively focus on providing a custodial service for large investors. The second phase will offer the possibility for Deutsche Bank customers to buy and sell their goods through partners.
More interestingly, the third phase will introduce plethora of “ value-added” services related to cryptocurrencies such as tax assistance, loans, staking and even the integration of third-party providers within the platform.
Finally, the last step for Deutsche Bank will be to natively provide token trading and issuance capabilities .
Project already well advanced, the report tells us that Deutsche Bank has completed its proof of concept and is targeting a minimum viable product in 2021 .
Cryptocurrencies invite themselves to banks
Deutsche Bank is one of a number of leading banks to have entered cryptocurrency in recent times. Since the price of Bitcoin (BTC) continues to climb, major banks around the world are taking a new look at cryptocurrency.
The announcements follow one another, between The Bank of New York Mellon which will also offer services related to cryptocurrencies, or JPMorgan, which will integrate Bitcoin trading if demand becomes sufficient .
Along with private banks, some central banks are very open to the idea of buying Bitcoin. This is particularly the case of that of Kenya, which plans to acquire Bitcoin to fight against the depreciation of its currency , the shilling.
This trend is not new, but has accelerated greatly in recent weeks, especially since Tesla’s investment of $ 1.5 billion in Bitcoin was made public.
All of this continues to take Bitcoin to new heights and contributes to the adoption of cryptocurrencies, both with institutions and individuals.