Deutsche Bank Says Bitcoin and Ether Custody Is Weeks Away in Germany, With Asia Next in 2027
Published October 17, 2026, 21:25 PKT. Based on Deutsche Bank's September 16, 2026 announcement (primary source), Gerald Podobnik's October 16, 2026 interview with Reuters (primary source), the European Securities and Markets Authority's interim MiCA register (primary source), Cointelegraph's October 16, 2026 reporting (secondary source), CoinMarketCap Academy (secondary source), and BSC News (secondary source).
Deutsche Bank is weeks away from launching crypto custody in Germany, corporate bank co-head Gerald Podobnik told Reuters on October 16, 2026, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Bangkok. The service, the lender's first digital asset offering, will initially hold Bitcoin and Ether for institutional and corporate clients, and the bank plans to extend it to Asian financial centers in 2027.
The weeks-away launch
Podobnik told Reuters the launch is weeks away and framed the move as part of the bank's push to reach 8% compound annual growth in its corporate bank by 2028. He pointed to the growth of the digital economy, including hundreds of billions of dollars held in stablecoins, as evidence that new pools of value have emerged over the past two decades. "I believe that, as the financial system, we will need to offer tokenised or blockchain solutions to our clients as additional services alongside our traditional ones ... but not necessarily to replace what we are doing today," he told Reuters.
Bitcoin, Ether and three stablecoins first
The bank's September 16, 2026 announcement said the initial service will support Bitcoin, Ether and selected stablecoins and e-money tokens: Circle's USDC, EURC and AllUnity's EURAU. Deutsche Bank will manage clients' digital-asset wallets and private keys, letting customers hold and transfer digital assets without building their own institutional custody infrastructure. Clients will access the service through the bank's Autobahn and corporate portals, according to product material cited by Particle News, and the phased rollout starts with custody and transfers before adding stablecoin conversion services, tokenized deposits and digital securities. The initial customer base spans corporates, asset managers, hedge funds, custodians, brokers and sovereign institutions served through the bank's Corporate Bank and Investment Bank divisions, and retail clients are not targeted. "Digital assets are not a replacement for the traditional financial system but an important complement to it," Podobnik said in the September release.
The BaFin authorization that cleared the path
The go-live for first clients is subject to completing the applicable regulatory process, the September release said. The European Securities and Markets Authority's interim MiCA register showed Deutsche Bank received authorization from Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, on Monday, October 12, 2026, according to Cointelegraph. Deutsche Bank spokesperson Heinrich Frömsdorf told Cointelegraph in September the bank expected to receive its MiCA-related custody license in October 2026. The custody plans have been years in the making: the bank first revealed its intent to offer crypto custody in 2023, partnered with Swiss digital-asset technology firm Taurus in September 2023, and led a $65 million funding round for Taurus that year, according to BSC News. Particle News reported the go-live still depends on completing EU MiCA-related reviews plus national sign-offs by BaFin and the Bundesbank.
Asia in 2027, tokenized deposits next
After the German launch, the bank plans to take the platform to Asian financial centers in 2027, with later phases adding fiat-to-stablecoin conversion, tokenized deposits and support for corporate clients issuing blockchain-based securities such as digital bonds, Podobnik told Reuters. Custody will not remove market price risk or provide deposit-guarantee protections, the bank's product material warns, according to Particle News. Deutsche Bank is not alone in the race: about eight of Europe's 20 largest banks already run live digital asset services, BSC News reported, and Germany's DZ Bank received BaFin authorization under MiCA in December 2025 for its meinKrypto platform, Cointelegraph reported. Standard Chartered said this month it plans digital asset custody in Singapore and launched Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for affluent clients in the United Arab Emirates, according to CoinMarketCap Academy.
This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.
Sources
- Deutsche Bank, September 16, 2026 announcement, primary source: first digital asset service; Bitcoin, Ether, USDC, EURC and EURAU at launch; bank manages client wallets and private keys; initial clients are corporates, asset managers, hedge funds, custodians, brokers and sovereign institutions across the Corporate Bank and Investment Bank; retail not targeted; go-live subject to completing the applicable regulatory process; Podobnik quote on digital assets complementing the traditional financial system
- Reuters, October 16, 2026, primary source: Gerald Podobnik, co-head of Deutsche Bank's corporate bank, told Reuters on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok that the Germany custody launch is weeks away; part of the 8% compound annual corporate-bank growth strategy by 2028; the digital economy and hundreds of billions of dollars in stablecoins as the rationale; Asia expansion in 2027; stablecoin on-ramps, tokenized deposits and digital bonds in later phases; quote on tokenised solutions as additional services
- European Securities and Markets Authority interim MiCA register, primary source: BaFin authorization for Deutsche Bank recorded Monday, October 12, 2026, as reported by Cointelegraph
- Cointelegraph, September and October 2026, secondary source: spokesperson Heinrich Frömsdorf's expectation of an October 2026 MiCA custody license; the ESMA register's October 12 BaFin authorization listing; DZ Bank's December 2025 BaFin MiCA authorization for meinKrypto
- CoinMarketCap Academy, October 2026, secondary source: the Reuters interview summary and the September announcement details; context on Standard Chartered's Singapore custody plans and United Arab Emirates trading launch
- BSC News, October 2026, secondary source: Deutsche Bank's 2023 first reveal of custody plans, the September 2023 Taurus partnership, the $65 million Taurus funding round, and the figure that about eight of Europe's 20 largest banks already run live digital asset services
- Particle News, October 2026, secondary source: clients accessing custody through Deutsche Bank's Autobahn and corporate portals; go-live conditional on EU MiCA reviews plus BaFin and Bundesbank sign-offs; custody not removing market price risk or providing deposit-guarantee protections
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