Germany's biggest bank is weeks from holding bitcoin for clients, and it has already pencilled in Asia for 2027

Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest lender, is weeks away from its first digital asset product: a custody service that holds cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether for clients. Gerald Podobnik, co-head of the corporate bank, told Reuters on Friday, on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok, that the German launch is weeks away and that the platform will be extended to Asian financial centres next year. CoinDesk, which picked up the report on Sunday evening, noted that the launch is subject to regulatory approval and that it is unclear which Asian markets or services the bank will target first.

The bank said in September that the service would start with bitcoin, ether and the stablecoins USDC, EURC and EURAU, with Deutsche Bank managing clients' wallets and private keys so they do not have to. BaFin authorised it under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets rules on October 12, according to ESMA's interim register, CoinDesk reported. Bitpanda and Taurus have worked with the bank on the plans.

Podobnik framed custody as the first step. Later phases are meant to let clients move money into and out of mainstream stablecoins, take tokenised deposits and issue blockchain-based securities such as digital bonds. Podobnik said the financial system will need to offer tokenised or blockchain solutions to clients as additional services, not as a replacement for what the bank does today.

The expansion is part of a corporate banking strategy targeting 8% compound annual growth by 2028. Standard Chartered and BBVA already offer crypto custody, CoinDesk noted, so Deutsche Bank will not be first; what it brings is the balance sheet of Germany's largest bank and an EU licence.