Germany’s second-largest bank is officially stepping into the retail crypto market. DZ Bank has received approval from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to launch its own cryptocurrency trading platform, marking a significant milestone for mainstream adoption in the country.
The green light was granted under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) framework and follows more than a year of testing. The platform, called “meinKrypto,” will allow customers to buy and hold digital assets directly through their regular banking app. DZ Bank announced the approval on January 13.
DZ Bank isn’t just another bank in Germany’s crowded financial landscape. It acts as the central institution for the German Cooperative Financial Network, which includes 672 local cooperative banks such as Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken. With BaFin’s approval secured, these local banks will be able to offer crypto services to everyday customers through meinKrypto.
There is one important catch, though: each individual cooperative bank will still need to file its own MiCAR notification with BaFin before it can begin offering crypto trading to clients.
The meinKrypto service is designed to be simple for users. It functions as a digital wallet inside the existing VR Banking App, meaning customers won’t need separate crypto platforms or exchanges. At launch, the offering will initially support four major cryptocurrencies:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Cardano (ADA)
Security and custody are being handled by Boerse Stuttgart Digital, part of the Boerse Stuttgart Group and a regulated custodian. Trading itself will be executed by EUWAX AG, another Boerse Stuttgart subsidiary specializing in financial services — adding an extra layer of regulatory oversight.
DZ Bank’s journey into digital assets has been building for some time. Early reports about its move toward retail crypto surfaced in early 2024, and pilot programs kicked off in December of that year. Westerwald Bank was the first cooperative bank to test the system before a gradual expansion to others. Even earlier, in November 2023, DZ Bank launched its own crypto custody platform using technology from Metaco, a Ripple subsidiary, signaling its long-term commitment to blockchain-based services.
The bank is also joining a broader trend in Germany’s financial industry. Traditional institutions are slowly warming up to crypto. DekaBank, part of the Sparkassen network, has already launched digital asset services, although its business currently focuses only on institutional clients. Likewise, LBBW — another Sparkassen institution — partnered with Bitpanda in 2024 to offer custody solutions for corporations and institutional investors.
With meinKrypto, however, DZ Bank is opening the door for retail customers to enter the crypto market through familiar banking channels. For Germany, this could be another step toward integrating digital assets into everyday finance rather than keeping them as a niche investment for tech-savvy users.
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