Deutsche Bank Partners With Taurus To Provide Crypto Custody And Tokenization Services

Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest financial institution, has partnered with Swiss crypto firm Taurus to offer digital asset custody and tokenization services to its institutional clients. This step signifies a crucial stride towards the seamless integration of traditional banking services with the rapidly expanding cryptocurrency market.

This partnership will allow the bank to hold a limited number of cryptocurrencies and some stablecoins for its clients for the first time, according to a spokesperson from Deutsche Bank. Currently, crypto trading is not part of the bank’s current plans.

Deutsche Bank’s global head of securities service, Paul Maley, stated:

“As the digital asset space is expected to encompass trillions of dollars of assets, it’s bound to be seen as one of the priorities for investors and corporations alike. As such, custodians must start adapting to support their clients.”

On the other hand, Lamine Brahimi, co-founder of Taurus, said the firm was looking forward to supporting the bank in introducing “digital assets and DLT-based services and products across several booking centers.”

Moreover, the latest announcement coincides with a period of improving regulatory clarity in the industry. Financial regulators and Governments worldwide are collaborating to establish clear guidelines for using and trading digital assets.

The bank stated that it is taking a cautious approach to complying with this asset class’s regulations. Maley explained that the product design and the nature of custody for clients will not impact the bank’s other activities.

Besides this initiative, other major financial institutions, such as Franklin, BlackRock, and Templeton, have exhibited interest in crypto. They submitted applications for a spot BTC ETF with the US SEC.

Deutsche Bank Shows Increasing Enthusiasm For Crypto

Deutsche Bank has been formulating plans to offer clients crypto trading and custody services for the past three years. In February, the asset management arm of Deutsche Bank, DWS Group, had been engaged in discussions regarding potential investments in two German-based crypto firms — Tradias and Deutsche Digital Assets.

Furthermore, this new collaboration isn’t the initial interaction between both companies. As per the statement, the Bank participated in Taurus’ $65 million Series B funding round in February.

The company said the raised funds would increase its technology sales expansion with new offices in Southeast Asia, Europe, America, and the UAE. Launched in 2018, Taurus provides the enterprise-grade infrastructure to trade, manage, custody, and issue digital assets. These assets include NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and tokenized assets.