25 Feb 2023
With Swiss Firm Metaco, Germany's DZ Bank Will Offer Crypto Custody
DZ Bank, Germany's second-largest bank, is putting the finishing touches on its plan to start offering custody services for digital assets. The offering will be made possible by collaborating with Metaco, a Swiss business specializing in assisting financial institutions in operating in the digital asset space.
Using a platform created by Metaco, DZ Bank, a subsidiary of Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, one of Germany's most prominent banking groups, will provide institutional clients with services in digital currencies and crypto securities, according to the fintech. The second-largest bank in Germany by assets, DZ Bank, is governed by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin). It is a reputable custodian.
The assets it was in charge of at the end of 2022 were worth €297 billion (almost $315 billion). The 2015-founded Swiss company Metaco is dedicated to facilitating cryptocurrency operations by both financial and non-financial institutions. Thanks to the platform's infrastructure, such players can manage smart contracts, tokenize other assets, offer staking services, and store and trade cryptocurrencies.
DZ Bank plans to use Metaco's flagship product, Harmonize, an orchestration platform for digital assets, to integrate its new offering into its current asset management services under the terms of the collaboration. According to Craig Perrin, chief sales officer at Metaco, “Metaco's digital asset technology infrastructure is purpose-built to support financial institutions to capitalize on the digital asset economy.” According to the press release, the German bank chose it after a thorough proof-of-concept and due diligence process, emphasizing regulatory compliance and security.
Lead solution designer for digital custody at DZ Bank, Nils Christopeit, explained:
In terms of our security, scalability, and future requirements of our digital asset custody initiative for institutional clients, starting with crypto securities as per the German eWpG, Metaco Harmonize has proven to be a powerful solution.
Christopeit referred to the Electronic Securities Act, also known as the Gesetz zur Einführung elektronischer Wertpapiere (Gesetz zur Einführung eWpG in German), which was passed in 2021 to modernize the nation's securities laws and the associated supervisory framework. A crucial component of the blockchain strategy adopted by the federal government in Berlin is the law, which went into effect on June 10 of that year.
Disclaimer: Nothing on this site should be construed as a financial investment recommendation. It’s important to understand that investing is a high-risk activity. Investments expose money to potential loss.
