Germany’s Top Banks Embrace Crypto with 2026 Launch Plans

Germany’s top banks, managing over $4.5 trillion in assets, are making significant strides into the crypto space, marking a pivotal shift in the European financial landscape. Deutsche Bank, with over $1.9 trillion in assets under management, and Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, overseeing more than $2.3 trillion, are preparing to launch regulated crypto services for both institutional and retail clients by 2026. This move signifies a notable step toward digital assets from some of the continent’s most conservative financial institutions.

Deutsche Bank is developing a crypto custody service tailored for institutional clients. This platform is being built in partnership with Austria’s Bitpanda Technology Solutions and the Swiss custodian Taurus. The goal is to deliver a BaFin-compliant crypto custody service designed for corporate and institutional use. Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, serving nearly 50 million Germans through its Sparkasse app, plans to embed retail crypto trading directly into its existing mobile infrastructure, with a go-live target of mid-2026. Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken (Genobanken), Germany’s cooperative banking network, is also following suit. Through a partnership with Börse Stuttgart Digital, they are preparing their own crypto trading and custody options.

These coordinated moves come on the heels of the MiCA regulation rollout, which offers long-awaited legal clarity for digital asset services across the EU. For traditional banks, the timing is perfect: The risk of early entry has passed, and the frameworks for regulated crypto in Germany are, as of 2025, clearly defined. This legal clarity eliminates the gray areas that once kept crypto at arm’s length, allowing major players to build regulated crypto services with confidence.

Deutsche Bank’s upcoming institutional crypto custody service will leverage Bitpanda for technical architecture and Taurus for secure asset storage. The bank’s blockchain strategies, including a layer-2 Ethereum solution – Project DAMA 2 – built on ZKsync, demonstrate its commitment to digital infrastructure. Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, as the country’s largest retail banking group, plans to roll out retail crypto trading via its Sparkasse app. The infrastructure is powered by DekaBank, its in-house asset manager, and Börse Stuttgart Digital. Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, with roughly 700 banks and $587 billion in assets, is exploring crypto services through back-end provider Atruvia and Börse Stuttgart Digital. Their pilot programs will introduce compliant retail crypto trading and secure custody features across participating regional banks.

Sparkassen’s move is particularly symbolic. Just a decade ago, it blocked customer access to crypto. Now, the group is set to enable Bitcoin and Ether trading for 50 million users. With rising pressure from retail clients, asset managers, and competing banks, the tone has shifted. In 2025’s banking environment, missing the crypto wave means falling behind. The integration of digital assets by Germany’s top banks signals the end of the “wild-west” era of crypto, ushering in a new phase of regulated, scaled, and deeply institutional digital assets.

As of Dec. 30, 2024, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) officially took full effect across the European Union. For the first time, banks and financial institutions have a unified legal framework for offering regulated crypto services, including custody, trading, and token issuance. This legal clarity allows major players like Deutsche Bank and Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe to build regulated crypto services with confidence. The rollout of these services is expected by mid-2026, pending BaFin approvals and final testing. Services will likely start with Bitcoin and Ether, with expansion into other assets or bank-issued stablecoins already under discussion. If Germany’s rollout under MiCA succeeds, it could spark a domino effect, prompting other EU banks to enter the space under the same framework.