Commerzbank, one of the largest banks in Germany, has confirmed that it applied for a local cryptocurrency license earlier this year, making it the first time a major bank has taken a step toward entering the crypto industry in the country.
On the 14th of April 2022, a Commerzbank spokesperson confirmed the notable move to a local media outlet, saying the bank “applied for the crypto custody license in the first quarter of 2022.”
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If the application is approved, the bank would be authorized to offer exchange services, including custody and protection of digital assets.
It’s worth noting that the German banking giant serves more than 18 million customers and more than 70,000 institutional clients. And the crypto license it is seeking aims to focus on institutional clients. So, the major move will certainly boost the adoption of cryptocurrency in the country if approved.
Since 1st January 2022, any business that wishes to offer crypto services in Germany has to first seek approval from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).
At the moment, only four companies, including Coinbase Germany and Upvest, have the approval to offer crypto services in Germany but BaFin had confirmed that it has more than 25 pending applications.
As far back as 2018, Commerzbank has seen involvement in blockchain projects. It initiated some of its first transactions on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) security lending platform with other major banks in 2019.
The bank entered into a partnership back in August 2021 in order to develop blockchain-based digital marketplaces for existing asset classes.
In 2021, the country introduced a raft of reforms, regulations, and further adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Also, a report has revealed that German investors are keen on adopting cryptocurrency.
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