Deutsche Bank says it is weeks away from launching its first digital-asset custody service, beginning in Germany and targeting an expansion into Asian financial centres in 2027. The planned rollout will initially give institutional and corporate clients custody for Bitcoin and Ether, according to a Reuters interview with Sabih Behzad, the bank's head of digital assets and currencies. The timetable places one of Europe's largest banks closer to offering regulated infrastructure for clients that want to hold digital assets without relying on a crypto-native custodian.

A phased institutional rollout

The bank first announced the custody project in September, saying it was preparing a service for institutional and corporate clients in partnership with Bitpanda Technology Solutions and Swiss infrastructure provider Taurus. Deutsche Bank said at the time that the launch remained subject to the applicable regulatory timeline. Behzad told Reuters on October 16 that the first service was now expected within weeks, with stablecoin on- and off-ramp functions intended to follow the initial Bitcoin and Ether custody offering.

Related reporting: Deutsche Bank Targets Near-Term Crypto Custody Launch and 2027 Asia Expansion

An on-ramp allows a client to move conventional currency into a digital token or related service, while an off-ramp supports the reverse conversion. Deutsche Bank has also identified tokenised deposits, blockchain-based securities and digital bonds as areas it expects to develop. These products are separate from the initial custody launch, so the near-term milestone should not be read as a simultaneous release of every service in the bank's digital-asset plan.

Why custody comes first

Custody is a foundational layer for institutional participation because the assets are controlled through cryptographic keys rather than conventional account records alone. Deutsche Bank's own custody explainer notes that professional arrangements may combine hardware-based key protection, cold storage, backups and multi-person authorisation. Banks also have to connect those controls with established compliance, reporting and client-governance processes. The value proposition is therefore less about providing a new tradable token than about placing digital assets inside an operating framework familiar to large organisations.

The Asian expansion is planned for 2027, but the bank has not publicly specified which financial centres will receive the service first. Local licensing and market structure will matter because digital-asset rules differ across the region. The sequence also indicates that Deutsche Bank intends to test the platform in its home market before extending it across jurisdictions, rather than launching globally on a single date.

Part of a broader corporate-bank strategy

Digital assets sit within Deutsche Bank's corporate-bank growth plan, which targets an 8% compound annual growth rate through 2028. Custody can support that strategy by giving existing institutional clients another regulated service alongside cash management, securities services and payments. It may also create the operational base for tokenised deposits and stablecoin settlement if those products clear regulatory and commercial hurdles.

Important details remain unresolved. Deutsche Bank has not disclosed pricing, eligible jurisdictions, minimum account requirements or projected assets under custody, and the public timetable still depends on regulatory and implementation steps. The launch would mark a concrete expansion of bank-led crypto infrastructure, but it does not guarantee client adoption or signal a view on the market value of Bitcoin, Ether or any stablecoin.

Sources

AI-generated editorial image; not a photograph of the reported event. Prepared with AI assistance and source verification.