DekaBank, a venerable name in German finance, is getting ready to offer cryptocurrency services to institutional clients, showing that bigwig interest isn’t waning.
As the financial player aims to diversify into institutional cryptocurrency offerings, German lender DekaBank has hired Metaco to oversee its operations for digital assets.
According to a statement released on Tuesday, custody and capital market solutions will be provided by Swiss services provider Metaco on behalf of DekaBank, which currently manages assets worth more than 360 billion euros ($390 point 9 billion). Legal authorization for the partnership is pending.
The 2014-founded Metaco company specializes in decentralized finance (DeFi) services as well as institutional cryptocurrency custody and trading.
According to Andreas Sack, product owner of digital assets custody at DekaBank, “digital assets are a critical part of the future, a radical new way for how assets will be represented, from currencies to real estate.”.
“Today, we take yet another critical step in laying the groundwork for granting access to this historic opportunity to millions of German citizens and institutional investors. “.
Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, the biggest financial services group in Europe, purchases its securities from DekaBank, a company founded in 1918.
In a press release on Tuesday, DekaBank noted that Metaco has experience with the European regulatory framework. According to the press release, Metaco has “established itself as a leading technology provider to financial institutions and corporations in the digital asset ecosystem.”. .
The partnership with Metaco is not Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe’s first venture into cryptocurrency. The banking organization acknowledged in December 2021 that it was developing a pilot project to let customers access bitcoin and ether through their current accounts.
Shortly after Metaco revealed it would collaborate with Turkish automaker Togg on its mobility ecosystem built on the Avalanche blockchain, DekaBank made its announcement.
Renate Prinz, a partner at McDermott Will and Emery LLP, noted in a blog post from November 2022 that DekaBank’s native Germany has a reputation for being one of the more lenient nations when it comes to cryptocurrency regulation.
According to Prinz, the nation has some of the most lucid regulations regarding token classification and licensing requirements, making it easier for investors and companies to operate there.
