DZ Bank Secures MiCA License to Offer Crypto Services in Germany
DZ Bank, one of Germany’s largest banking groups by assets, has achieved a significant milestone in its crypto strategy by securing a license under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). This license, granted by Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), enables DZ Bank to operate its crypto platform, “meinKrypto”, which aims to provide crypto trading infrastructure to banks within the German cooperative banking association.
The “meinKrypto” platform will be made available to participating local banks in the coming months, with DZ Bank acting as the central operator. Each participating bank must submit a separate MiCA report to BaFin before releasing crypto trading to their customers. At launch, the platform will support Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Cardano (ADA), and will be integrated directly into the VR Banking app as a self-directed investment option.
Implementation of Crypto Plans
The MiCA license marks the transition from planning to implementation of DZ Bank’s crypto strategy, following years of regulatory preparation by European financial institutions. MiCA creates a uniform legal framework for crypto assets and related services across the EU, replacing fragmented national regulations with a single supervisory standard. This license allows DZ Bank to legally operate crypto infrastructure under the framework, although retail distribution across the network is not automatically approved.
Banks that wish to offer crypto services to their consumers through the infrastructure must consult regulators individually before offering crypto trading. The “meinKrypto” platform was developed jointly by DZ Bank and Atruvia, the IT service provider of the cooperative financial network. This development is part of a broader trend of banks forming alliances to offer crypto services, such as Spanish Bankinter joining a $35 million funding round for Bit2Me.
Previous Rollout Plans
On September 19, 2024, DZ Bank partnered with Börse Stuttgart Digital to offer crypto trading and custody services to around 700 cooperative banks, with the first launch planned for the end of 2024. The approval removes significant uncertainties surrounding previous plans and provides a clear legal basis for the operation of crypto services on a large scale within the EU.
Even if comprehensive private customer access is not immediately possible, the license positions DZ Bank as one of the first large banking groups to implement MiCA in practice. This development is a significant step forward for the adoption of crypto services in the EU, and demonstrates the growing interest of traditional financial institutions in the crypto space.
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