DekaBank crypto: custody and trading for the Sparkassen
DekaBank is the securities house of the German Sparkassen, based in Frankfurt. It holds a crypto securities registrar license and a crypto custody license, trades crypto assets on commission for institutional clients, and builds the crypto offer that Sparkassen can give their private customers. Dated events are in the calendar below.
From tokenized settlement to crypto custody
DekaBank started with the payments and securities side. It took part in the Eurosystem's exploratory work on settling tokenized securities in central bank money, together with the joint venture SWIAT and Clearstream's D7 platform; according to IT Finanzmagazin (in German), ten transactions over 380 million euros ran in these trials. The page on wholesale CBDC covers that work. In summer 2024 DekaBank received a license as a registrar for crypto securities under the Electronic Securities Act.
ECB and BaFin then granted DekaBank a crypto custody license under the German Banking Act, as IT Finanzmagazin reported in December 2024 (in German). The page on crypto custody in Germany explains the license.
Crypto trading for institutional clients
In February 2025 DekaBank opened commission trading, custody and administration of crypto assets to institutional investors, the Sparkassen among them; it had already traded payment tokens on commission the year before. Board member Martin K. Müller said the bank was ready to offer crypto asset services to institutional investors. crypto.news summarized Bloomberg's report: the offer excludes retail investors, and DekaBank sees crypto mainly as a way to diversify portfolios.
Boerse Stuttgart Digital has been DekaBank's infrastructure partner for crypto trading with institutional clients since 2024. DekaBank uses the crypto infrastructure it built for this institutional business as the base for its retail offer.
The offer for Sparkassen customers
The Sparkassen asked DekaBank to build their crypto offer for private customers. In a joint press release of October 13, 2025 (in German), Boerse Stuttgart Digital and DekaBank describe it: an offer without advice for self-directed investors, covering trading, custody and the front end, with Boerse Stuttgart Digital as liquidity provider and a start planned for 2026. Marion Spielmann, COO for banking business and depositary at DekaBank, said the in-house infrastructure keeps the largest possible part of the value chain inside the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe.
The page on Sparkasse crypto describes the offer from the customer side. A credit institution that offers crypto asset services to its clients under MiCA can do so after a notification to its supervisor, explained on the page on MiCA Article 60.
Upcoming digital asset events in Germany
DekaBank at events announced by Finance Loop
DekaBank was on the panel on DLT-based market infrastructures at the Frankfurt Forum on Digital Assets & Applications, next to 360X, 21X and Seturion. The panel covered client needs and design choices for trading and settlement venues for tokenized securities.
Payments & Digital Money
Investment & Digital Assets
Risk & Compliance
Does DekaBank have a crypto custody license?
Yes. ECB and BaFin granted DekaBank a crypto custody license under the German Banking Act in December 2024. It also holds a license as a registrar for crypto securities.
Who can trade crypto with DekaBank?
Institutional clients, the Sparkassen among them, can trade, hold and administer crypto assets through DekaBank. Private customers reach the offer only through their Sparkasse, once it has switched the service on.
What is Boerse Stuttgart Digital's role?
Boerse Stuttgart Digital supplies crypto liquidity to DekaBank through its institutional brokerage. DekaBank covers trading, custody and the front end of the Sparkassen offer.
DekaBank crypto and Finance Loop
Finance Loop covers DekaBank's crypto custody and its Sparkassen offer in the Investment & Digital Assets track, and its settlement trials in the Payments & Digital Money track. DekaBank spoke at the Frankfurt Forum on Digital Assets & Applications, which Finance Loop announced on its blog.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the adoption of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.