First Time For Local German Bank, Commerzbank Wants To Enter Crypto Money Business

Commerzbank, wants to get into the crypto business in Germany. (photo: Commerzbank.com)

JAKARTA - One of Germany's largest banking institutions has confirmed that it applied for a local cryptocurrency license earlier this year. This move marks the first time a major bank has moved towards cryptocurrency in Germany.

A spokesperson from Commerzbank confirmed to Börsen-Zeitung on April 14 that they had “applied for a crypto storage license in the first quarter of 2022.” If approved, then they will be allowed to offer exchange services along with the custody and protection of crypto assets.

Commerzbank serves more than 18 million customers and more than 70,000 institutional clients, and its cryptocurrency offering will reportedly target its institutional client base.

From 1 January 2020, any business wishing to offer cryptocurrency services in Germany must first seek approval from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, also known as BaFin.

Currently, only four companies have approvals, but BaFin says it has more than 25 pending applications from companies looking to operate crypto storage businesses.

Germany's Coinbase was the first to be approved by regulators in June 2021, and Berlin-based financial technology firm Upvest was also recently approved for a license in March.

Commerzbank has been involved in blockchain projects since 2018 and made the first few transactions on its distributed ledger technology security lending platform (DLT) with other major banks in the following year.

Most recently, in August 2021, the company partnered to develop a blockchain-based digital marketplace for existing asset classes such as art and real estate.

Germany introduced a series of reforms, regulations and further adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in 2021.

German investors are also interested in adopting crypto. A March report by KuCoin revealed that 44% of Germans are “motivated to invest in cryptocurrencies” and “37% of German crypto investors have been trading cryptocurrencies for over a year.”.