A major banking conglomerate in Germany is gearing up to introduce cryptocurrency trading services to its interested clientele within the current year.

A report by Bloomberg reveals that this alliance, which includes over 700 banks, a central institution, and various service providers and entities, is prepping to commence the trial phase of this venture imminently.

DZ Bank Spearheads Cryptocurrency Trading Initiative

At the helm of this initiative is DZ Bank, which leads the network of cooperative banks. Souad Benkredda, the central bank’s board member in charge of capital markets, has confirmed with Bloomberg that principal banks are poised to start a trial run, involving Bitcoin (BTC) trading and assorted other digital currencies, for their clients.

“Within this year, we are aiming to commence a pilot phase for cryptocurrency trading through a number of our cooperative banks… Our goal isn’t to limit the offering to just one cryptocurrency. We want to provide a multitude of options. That’s significant to us,” Benkredda expressed.

Originally, DZ Bank had intended to collaborate with Deutsche WertpapierService Bank AG (DWP Bank), an organization providing securities services to savings, cooperative, and private banks, for rolling out this new initiative. Nevertheless, that arrangement has been terminated and a fresh, yet-to-be-disclosed collaborator is now part of the project.

Facilitating Independent Trading Decisions

Benkredda highlighted that these trading services are designed to empower customers to make independent trading choices, operating autonomously without advisory input. She referenced a survey carried out by the Geno Association which unveiled that half of the banks exhibit a strong interest in implementing this digital offering for their patrons, although the ultimate decision lies with each respective bank.

Despite the enthusiasm among cooperative banks to enhance their portfolios with cryptocurrency offerings, German savings banks have taken a more conservative stance. In fact, committees within this group have recommended member banks to steer clear of exposing their clients to cryptocurrency trading services.

This progressive step by the cooperative banks occurs approximately a year subsequent to DZ Bank’s establishment of a partnership with Swiss company Metaco and the Harmonize orchestration platform to furnish institutional clientele with digital asset custody solutions. DZ has acknowledged the efficacy of this service platform, chosen after a thorough proof-of-concept and due diligence process.