German federal bank to offer crypto to institutional and corporate clients

The biggest German federal bank is planning to debut cryptocurrency custodial services in partnership with crypto platform Bitpanda. This offering is aimed at attracting institutional and corporate customers.

In the second half of 2024, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), Germany’s largest government-supported financial institution managing over $350 billion in assets, plans to introduce crypto custody services for its institutional and corporate clients. This step is intended to stimulate the local digital asset market.

Announcement of a new collaboration: Bitpanda joins forces with LBBW!

— Bitpanda (@Bitpanda_global) April 15, 2024

On April 15, crypto exchange Bitpanda announced they would grant LBBW access to their “investment platform for crypto” so that the bank could provide crypto investment opportunities to its business clients.

In the upcoming months, we will enhance the system for managing and safeguarding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets.

Bitpanda

According to Jürgen Harengel, managing director of corporate banking at LBBW, the bank’s latest venture is in response to the growing interest among its business clients for digital assets. The trend is “continually gaining traction.”

“We strongly believe that crypto assets will become the foundation for new business structures.”

Jürgen Harengel

Initially, LBBW, founded in 1999 and acting as a full-service commercial bank for savings banks in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saxony, primarily caters to institutional and corporate clients. However, it’s undecided whether they will expand their services to retail clients in the future. Since 2014, LBBW has been recognized as a significant institution under European Banking Supervision.

LBBW’s entry into cryptocurrency custody is in line with the growing enthusiasm for digital currencies among individual investors in Germany. A study conducted by KPMG and BTC-ECHO reported that over half of these investors have allocated more than 20% of their overall assets to crypto investments.

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2024-04-15 12:04