• Deutsche Bank's custody service is live for paying institutional and corporate clients in Europe [1].
  • It holds bitcoin, ether and stablecoins including USDC, EURC and EURAU, with the bank managing wallets and private keys [2].
  • The bank signed an MoU with Deutsche Asset Management, formerly DWS, to explore digital asset collaboration [1].

Deutsche Bank said on Wednesday that its digital asset custody service has gone live for paying clients, Reuters reported [1]. Germany's largest lender announced the service in September for institutional and corporate clients in Europe, subject to regulatory approval [1][2].

The service covers bitcoin, ether and selected stablecoins and e-money tokens, including USDC, EURC and EURAU, and the bank holds clients' wallets and private keys so they do not need their own custody infrastructure [2]. It is aimed at corporates, asset managers, hedge funds, custodians, brokers and sovereign institutions, not retail customers, and Deutsche Bank has said tokenized financial instruments are on its roadmap [2]. It has not disclosed client numbers or assets held.

"In the medium term we aim to deliver a fully integrated, regulated ecosystem" for the custody, tokenisation and settlement of digital assets, said Paul Maley, global head of trust and securities services [1]. The bank has said it wants to extend the service to Asia [1].

Deutsche Bank also signed a memorandum of understanding with Deutsche Asset Management, the majority-owned money manager formerly known as DWS, "to explore comprehensive commercial and technical collaboration opportunities in the digital asset space" [1]. Banks are moving into the same market from several directions: on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs, Citi and other banks committed $270 million to a bank-backed stablecoin venture, and PNC is piloting USDC payments for corporate clients.

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