Deutsche Bank is preparing to launch a digital asset custody solution for institutional and corporate clients in Europe, subject to the completion of the applicable regulatory process.
The new service will enable clients to securely hold and transfer selected digital assets, with Deutsche Bank managing wallets and private keys on their behalf.
At launch, the platform will support a selected range of digital assets including Bitcoin, Ether and selected stablecoins and e-money tokens such as USDC, EURC and EURAU.
Tokenised financial instruments are also included in the bank’s future roadmap.
Gerald Podobnik, Co-Head of the Corporate Bank at Deutsche Bank, said digital assets should be viewed as a complement to existing financial infrastructure rather than a replacement.
“We see them as new rails that can coexist with existing market infrastructures while benefiting from the trust, security and safeguards that regulated financial institutions provide,” he said.
The initial target market includes corporate and institutional clients across the bank’s Corporate Bank and Investment Bank divisions, including asset managers, hedge funds, custodians, brokers and sovereign institutions.
According to Deutsche Bank, the custody solution has been designed with institutional-grade security controls, including hardware-based key protection, segregation of duties, multi-person approvals and separate storage environments.
