Deutsche Bank said it will launch a digital-asset custody service for institutional and corporate clients in Europe this year, subject to completion of the applicable regulatory timeline. The bank will manage wallets and private keys on clients' behalf so clients can safeguard assets and transfer them to third parties without building their own custody stack.
At launch the supported set includes Bitcoin and Ether plus selected stablecoins or e-money tokens including USDC, EURC and EURAU. The range may expand later subject to client demand and the bank's product-approval, risk and regulatory processes; tokenized financial instruments are on the roadmap.
Gerald Podobnik, Co-Head Corporate Bank, framed digital assets as new rails that complement rather than replace traditional market infrastructure, with further development tied to client demand, regulation and risk appetite. Security design cited by the bank includes secure key generation and hardware protection, segregation of duties, multi-person approvals, separate warm and cold storage, redundant setup and controlled backup/recovery, with selected external providers for defined components.
Initial clients are Corporate Bank and Investment Bank counterparties — corporates, asset managers, hedge funds, custodians, brokers and sovereign institutions — subject to the bank's onboarding criteria and due diligence. The release states the service remains subject to the regulatory process; timing, geography, assets and scope may change. Crypto-assets are not covered by a deposit-guarantee scheme comparable to eligible bank deposits.
Source: Deutsche Bank media release, Sep 16, 2026.
Deutsche Bank media release (Sep 16, 2026)