Deutsche Bank Plans to Launch a Digital Asset Custody Platform for Institutional Clients

Deutsche Bank is planning to present its minimum viable product (MVP) for a digital asset custody platform aimed at institutional clients this year, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.

The report itself was published in December of 2020, but initially received little attention. Alongside information on Bitcoin, a number of altcoins, second-layer solutions such as the Lightning Network, and financial service providers like PayPal, it also includes Deutsche Bank's plans to capture the growing digital asset space.

According to the report, Germany's largest banking institution anticipates the tokenization of traditional assets such as private placements, bonds, and real estate "to move more into the mainstream," citing analysts that predict the tokenized asset space to potentially grow to $24 trillion in the future. As more assets are being issued in tokenized form, Deutsche Bank seeks to become the destination of choice when it comes to safeguarding these assets and has completed its proof of concept for a custody platform focused on digital assets.

As part of this quest, it aims to provide "a secure connected bridge between digital assets and a customer’s traditional banking services" and provide both hot and cold storage solutions for its institutional clients.

More Banks Are Shifting Towards Digital Currencies

As a growing number of institutions has taken an interest in Bitcoin, more and more banks are taking a stance, too.

Bank of Singapore in January reportedly released a research note in which it stated that Bitcoin could eventually replace traditional safe haven assets like gold. This, however, would only be possible with increased trust, lower volatility, and more regulatory clarity.

DBS (accidentally) published a page detailing information about an upcoming digital asset exchange for institutional customers. The security token and cryptocurrency trading platform has since been launched, and on its website, DBS writes that "digital assets are poised to be the future of tomorrow’s digital economy."