Germany’s Commerzbank obtains crypto custody licence

Commerzbank has become the first full-service bank in Germany to receive regulatory approval for a crypto custody licence.

Commerzbank, among the top four largest banks in Germany, has taken a huge step towards providing its clients access to secure digital assets custody. This is after it became the first full-service bank in the country to receive a crypto custody licence from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

The regulatory approval was granted pursuant to the German Banking Act (KWG), Frankfurt-based Commerzbank said in an announcement on Wednesday.

Commerzbank eyes crypto custody

According to the details shared in the press release, the licence allows the bank to develop its digital asset services solutions, including one that specifically targets crypto assets.

“Now that we have been granted the licence, we have achieved an important milestone. This highlights our ongoing commitment to applying the latest technologies and innovations, and it forms the foundation for supporting our customers in the areas of digital assets,” Dr Jörg Oliveri del Castillo-Schulz, the COO of Commerzbank, noted.

Providing custody for crypto assets will allow the bank to serve a wide range of customers, including from the burgeoning blockchain technology industry. 

As CoinJournal reported, Germany’s top bank Deutsche Bank announced a patnership with Swiss-based crypto firm Taurus in September. The collaboration allowed the bank to offer custody solutions for digital assets and tokenized financial instruments.