Deutsche Bank launches crypto custody for paying clients

Can institutional clients now custody crypto with Deutsche Bank? Yes: the bank’s digital asset custody service is live for paying clients, and it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Deutsche Asset Management to explore digital asset products. The Block reported on Nov. 11 that the service lets clients hold assets with the bank, which manages their wallets and private keys, and transfer them to other parties. Reuters also reported the launch for paying clients and the new agreement.

Which assets and clients does the service cover?

The service is aimed at institutional and corporate clients in Europe. Deutsche Bank’s September announcement named Bitcoin, Ether and selected stablecoins or e-money tokens, including USDC, EURC and EURAU; The Block reported those assets in its account of the launch. That makes this a custody and transfer service for professional clients, rather than a retail crypto product.

The custody setup also puts the bank between clients and the signing infrastructure: according to The Block, Deutsche Bank manages the wallets and private keys. The report says the system uses warm and cold storage, hardware-based key protection and transaction approvals involving multiple people. Those controls describe how the bank is securing access; they do not remove the price risk of the assets themselves.

What does the asset management agreement commit the firms to?

The memorandum does not announce a finished tokenized product. It sets out areas for Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Asset Management to explore: tokenized money market funds, crypto-asset exchange-traded commodities and stablecoins. The firms will also consider custody and settlement, liquidity management, treasury and distribution using the custody platform, The Block reported.

For you, the distinction is between infrastructure that is now live and products that remain under discussion. The next thing to watch is whether the memorandum leads to a specific fund or other product, and what terms and launch timing the firms disclose.

References

• The Block reported — theblock.co
• reported the launch for paying clients — live.euronext.com