Deutsche Börse Group is entering the digital assets space by introducing a new custody and settlement service for bitcoin and ethereum. Through its post-trade unit, Clearstream, the company will offer institutional investors a secure and regulated way to store and manage digital assets.
Clearstream, a part of Deutsche Börse, will launch the service in April 2025.
The new service will initially support bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH), the two largest digital assets by market cap. It’s designed for institutional clients, so over 2,500 financial institutions can access bitcoin custody and settlement via their existing Clearstream Banking SA accounts.
Jens Hachmeister, Head of Issuer Services & New Digital Markets at Clearstream, said:
“Offering crypto custody is the next step on Clearstream’s journey to digitize financial markets. The institutional-grade, regulatory compliant solution gives clients easy and quick access to new asset classes while using the best of our established post-trading systems.”
To ensure security and compliance, Deutsche Börse will use its majority-owned subsidiary, Crypto Finance, as the sub-custodian.
Crypto Finance, based in Switzerland, is a regulated entity that has already received approval under Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). This allows the company to operate in the EU and comply with strict regulations.
Stijn Vander Straeten, CEO of Crypto Finance, said: “This offering puts Deutsche Börse Group in a unique position in the digital assets industry. We are now not only covering native services via direct interface but also traditional rails that are implemented with most financial market participants.”
While custody and settlement will be the initial focus, Clearstream has bigger plans.
Over time the company will add staking, lending and brokerage to its digital asset services. Hachmeister confirmed this, saying, “With this we are creating a one stop shop around custody, brokerage and settlement”.
He also mentioned the potential future addition of stablecoins and tokenized securities.
This comes at a time when institutions are showing increasing interest in bitcoin, especially after MiCA regulations were implemented.
The European Union’s MiCA framework which came into effect in late 2024 creates a clear regulatory environment for digital assets and now traditional financial institutions are more confident to explore bitcoin services.
Vander Straeten said international banking clients have been asking for bitcoin support since MiCA was introduced.
“There is very high demand for crypto support from international banking clients,” he said. Many financial institutions have spent millions of euros building in-house digital asset capabilities but Clearstream’s new service might be a more cost-effective solution.
Deutsche Börse isn’t the only big financial institution expanding into digital assets and bitcoin.
Boerse Stuttgart Digital, a competitor in Germany, became the country’s first fully licensed digital asset service provider under MiCA earlier this year. Banks like BBVA in Spain have also started offering bitcoin trading for retail clients.
In the U.S., the institutional adoption of bitcoin is accelerating. Big banks like JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are increasing their exposure to bitcoin ETFs, a sign of broader acceptance of bitcoin in traditional finance.
With over €21 trillion in assets under custody, Clearstream is one of the world’s largest post-trade service providers. Its entry into bitcoin custody is a big moment for traditional finance.