In the latter part of 2024, Germany’s biggest regional bank, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, plans to initiate the provision of services for securely holding and managing cryptocurrencies.
Institutionally focused crypto custodial services, provided by the bank in collaboration with Austrian cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda based in Austria, will soon be available.
According to Jürgen Harengel, the managing director of corporate banking at Landesbank Baden-Württemperg, there has been a rising trend among German corporations seeking digital asset custody services from the country’s federal bank.
“The demand from our corporate customers for digital assets is increasing.”
The Landesbank Baden-Württemberg intends to use Bitpanda’s institutional-grade custody service for its digital asset offerings. Bitpanda Custody, which is a decentralized finance (DeFi) enabled crypto custodian platform, is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as stated on Bitpanda’s website.
CryptoMoon has approached Bitpanda exchange for comment.
German banks prepare for MiCA regulations by the end of 2024
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg isn’t the sole German bank exploring cryptocurrency offerings. Since September 2023, Deutsche Bank has been developing digital asset custody services in collaboration with Swiss crypto company Taurus. They are providing custody and tokenization solutions for Deutsche Bank.
In February 2024, DZ Bank, the second largest bank in Germany, revealed its intention to initiate a cryptocurrency trading trial towards the end of that year. Back in November 2023, they had introduced their digital asset custody platform.
European markets’ largest economies’ banks are readying themselves for the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, scheduled to begin in December 2024. This marks the first extensive legal structure designed specifically for the crypto sector.
Starting at the end of 2024, crypto exchanges will be subject to comprehensive regulations, as confirmed by Vyara Savova, a senior policy advisor at the European Crypto Initiative. (Source: Interview with CryptoMoon)
“2024 is the year of MiCA, and the whole EU will now have a comprehensive legal framework for crypto-assets, crypto-asset services, and crypto-asset service providers (also known as CASPs). Crypto exchanges are a type of CASP under MiCA and will become fully regulated in December 2024.”
The MiCA legislation is currently undergoing refinement. The second round of consultations for the guidelines regarding reverse solicitation under MiCA concludes on April 29th. The results of this consultation process will significantly impact how MiCA is ultimately rolled out in December, as stated by Savova.
“[The consultation will determine] how exchanges and other CASPs from countries outside of the EU might provide services to EU citizens without a license and how these services should be marketed in Europe. The outcomes of this consultation will be critical for MiCA’s implementation in December.”
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2024-04-15 11:44