German bank Donner & Reuschel to launch crypto trading and custody services.

One of Germany’s oldest banks Donner & Reuschel, has announced to launch cryptocurrency trading and custody services for its customers. The bank cited high demand from its customers as a key factor behind the move. Founded in 1798, Donner & Reuschel specializes in private banking, with over €9 billion ($10.7 billion) in assets under management. It’s based in Hamburg, with offices all over Germany and a subsidiary in neighboring Luxembourg.

The German bank intends to set up the desk as soon as possible.

In its announcement, Donner & Reuschel revealed that it intends to set up the desk as soon as possible. Once the custody service is up, the bank will move on to the tok0enization of assets. It predicts that there will be a major shift in the finance industry towards tokenized assets, and it wants to be positioned to benefit from this shift. The German bank has enlisted DLC Distributed Ledger Consulting GmbH as its consultant partner. The recent massive rally of bitcoin has sparked an interest in banks and other institutions to get involved with cryptocurrencies. 

“Blockchain technology will result in the greatest structural change in the financial industry.”

Marcus Vitt, Donner & Reuschel’s spokesperson, stated, “We have been observing the digital assets market for some time now and are convinced of the potential of blockchain technology, also with regard to traditional securities transactions.” Vitt further lauded the potential that blockchain technology has to transform the banking industry. He added, “Blockchain technology will result in the greatest structural change in the financial industry that I have been able to experience so far in my 20-year banking career. And of course, we want to ensure that both our customers and the bank benefit from this change in the best possible way.” Germany’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, has been building a custodial solution for months now.