BaFin and ECB approve Germany’s DekaBank for crypto custody
The post BaFin and ECB approve Germany’s DekaBank for crypto custody appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Germany’s DekaBank has scored a major win, bagging a crypto custody license from BaFin, the country’s financial watchdog, and the European Central Bank (ECB). The license was granted under the Banking Act (KWG) and DekaBank will be joining Commerzbank as one of the only traditional German banks to operate in this space. But let’s not get too excited—this is Germany, after all, where regulation is the order of the day, and every action is measured. While BaFin has granted crypto custody licenses to 11 other firms, most of those have gone to crypto-native companies, like the digital asset custody arm of Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank. DekaBank’s license game is strong What makes DekaBank and Commerzbank stand out is that their licenses fall under traditional banking regulations, giving them a level of legitimacy that smaller crypto firms can only dream of. This isn’t DekaBank’s first big regulatory decision this year. Back in July, it snagged a license to operate as a crypto securities registrar. Translation? It can issue blockchain-based digital securities in Germany without needing a central securities depository (CSD). This cuts out unnecessary middlemen, a very crypto thing to do. DekaBank is also a founding member of SWIAT, a blockchain platform designed for digital securities issuance. It’s got giants like Standard Chartered and LBBW involved. Back in September, Siemens used SWIAT to issue a €300 million digital bond. Germany’s regulatory speed bump The Supervision of Crypto Markets Act (KMAG) is supposed to replace Germany’s old crypto rules with MiCA’s shiny new framework. But because the German government has been a political circus lately, the law was delayed for months. It only passed on December 18, giving institutions like DekaBank the green light to expand their crypto operations across the EU. Before KMAG’s passage, the regulatory limbo made things awkward for…
Filed under: News - @ December 22, 2024 12:27 pm