By
Tolu Ajiboye
April 23rd, 2024
LBBW said that its decision to offer crypto custodial services comes on backdrop of strong client demand. For its offering, the Federal bank will leverage Bitpanda’s institutional custodial solutions.
In the latest development, Germany’s biggest federal bank – Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) – with over $355 billion in assets under management has decided to offer cryptocurrency custodial services in partnership with the Bitpanda exchange. As part of the agreement, LBBW along with Bitpanda will offer crypto custody service to corporate and institutional clients starting from the second half of the year. Off lately, Germany’s banking institutions have become more active in the crypto sector.
These banking institutions have started developing their own crypto products and services while also offering custodial solutions before the EU regulations come into effect later this year. Also, the German Federal Bank stated that they have seen increased demand for crypto custody.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Jürgen Harengel, managing director of corporate banking at Landesbank Baden-Württemberg said:
“The demand from our corporate customers for digital assets is increasing. We are convinced that crypto assets will establish themselves as a building block for further business models. With this cooperation, we are creating the technical and regulatory basis at an early stage to best support the individual crypto strategies of our corporate customers.”
For its own offering, Federal Bank Landesbank Baden-Württemberg will leverage Bitpanda’s institutional custodial solutions. Bitpanda is a regulated custodial provider of digital assets registered with the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and has decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities.
Preparing for MiCA Regulations
Some of the largest banking institutions in Germany have already started preparing for the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework to take effect by the year-end in December 2024. This will be the first comprehensive legal framework for Europe’s crypto industry.
Thus, as MiCA comes into effect, cryptocurrency exchanges will become fully legal entities following that. The MiCA bill is currently in its finalization stage. The second consultation package for reverse solicitation guidelines under MiCA will conclude on April 29. The results of this consultation will significantly impact the final implementation of MiCA, expected in December. Speaking on the development, Vyara Savova, senior policy lead at the European Crypto Initiative said:
“[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.”
The Landesbank Baden-Württemberg isn’t the only German bank looking to offer crypto custodial services. Last year since September 2023, the banking giant Deutsche Bank has also been exploring digital asset custody services. For this, the bank has also collaborated with Swiss crypto startup Taurus for offering custody and tokenization solutions.