One of the largest banking institutions in Germany has confirmed it applied for a local crypto license earlier this year, marking the first time a major bank has made a move toward cryptocurrencies in the country.

 

A spokesperson from Commerzbank confirmed to local media outlet Börsen-Zeitung on April 14 that it “applied for the crypto custody license in the first quarter of 2022.” If approved it would be authorized to offer exchange services along with custody and protection of crypto-assets.

 

Currently only four companies have approval but BaFin states it has over 25 applications pending from firms wishing to operate crypto custody businesses.

 

Commerzbank has seen involvement in blockchain projects as far back as 2018, and carried out some of the first transactions on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) security lending platform with other major banks the following year.

 

More recently, in August 2021 the firm entered into a partnership to develop blockchain-based digital marketplaces for existing asset classes such as art and real estate.

 

Germany introduced a raft of reforms, regulations and further adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in 2021.

 

German investors are also keen on adopting crypto. A March report by Kucoin revealed 44% of Germans are “motivated to invest in cryptocurrencies and “37% of German crypto investors have been trading cryptocurrencies for over a year.”

 

Source: Cointelegraph