Deutsche Bank Makes Major U-Turn on Crypto

Deutsche Bank has announced a partnership with Swiss cryptocurrency firm Taurus to offer custody services for institutional clients. 

The move marks the bank's entry into holding cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets for its clients.

According to a spokesperson for Deutsche Bank, the financial institution has no "immediate plans" for crypto trading, despite suggesting an interest in the activity in a 2020 World Economic Forum paper. 

The announcement comes at a time when mainstream finance is increasingly exploring blockchain technology, even as the crypto market navigates regulatory uncertainties and remains volatile.

Deutsche Bank's U-turn

This new direction is particularly striking given past warnings from Ulrich Stephan, Deutsche Bank's chief investment strategist, who urged investors not to touch Bitcoin and criticized cryptocurrencies as "too volatile and not regulated enough" back in 2018.

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Despite past reservations, Paul Maley, Deutsche Bank's global head of securities services, now states that the trillion-dollar digital space has emerged as "one of the priorities" for investors and corporations alike.

Earlier involvement

The latest move may seem groundbreaking, but Deutsche Bank has been taking incremental steps toward embracing cryptocurrencies and digital assets. In February 2021, the bank revealed plans to become a crypto custodian and later applied for a digital asset license in Germany. Deutsche Bank has also been involved in discussions to invest in German cryptocurrency firms through its asset management arm, DWS Group.

Past reports from the bank have covered a variety of crypto topics, from the potential for NFTs going mainstream to survey data showing that most investors would continue to hold cryptocurrencies even if the market crashed.