Deutsche Bank plans to extend its cryptocurrency custody platform to Asian financial centers in 2027 after first launching the service in Germany. The country's largest lender expects to begin serving clients within weeks, starting with custody for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), with stablecoin services, tokenized deposits, and blockchain-based securities planned alongside.

Gerald Podobnik, co-head of the bank's corporate banking division, outlined the timetable on October 16 during International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Bangkok. Institutional and corporate customers will hold digital assets through the bank.

Deutsche Bank Prepares BTC and Ether Custody Launch in Germany

The bank first outlined its custody plans in September, when it said the first clients could join the service during 2026, subject to regulatory requirements. The announcement listed BTC, Ether, and selected stablecoins among the supported assets.

According to the bank's plans, custody customers will be able to store digital assets through the lender without necessarily gaining access to instant purchases, sales, or currency exchanges. Custody of this kind centers on safeguarding the cryptographic keys that control on-chain assets — a core operational requirement for institutions holding tokens directly.

Crypto custody is regulated in Germany under a dedicated licensing category added to the country's Banking Act in 2020, supervised by financial regulator BaFin. Across the European Union, the service now also falls under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which has applied in full since the end of 2024.

Deutsche Bank has been working with Taurus, a Swiss digital asset technology company, on the infrastructure underpinning its institutional crypto services. The lender participated in a $65 million Taurus funding round in 2023.

Asia Expansion Planned for 2027

Deutsche Bank expects to bring the custody platform to financial centers across Asia in 2027, after the German launch. The lender has not publicly confirmed which jurisdictions would receive the service first. Regional expansion will require the bank to address the licensing and operating requirements of each market it enters — digital asset rules differ across the region, with markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan each maintaining their own frameworks for crypto-related services.

The digital asset initiative also forms part of a larger corporate banking strategy. Deutsche Bank aims to achieve compound annual growth of 8% in that business by 2028, according to the targets outlined by Podobnik. He pointed to the hundreds of billions of dollars held in stablecoins as one reason banks are developing digital asset services alongside their existing products. The start of client onboarding in Germany and any confirmation of the first Asian markets will mark the program's next checkpoints.

Stablecoin Services, Tokenized Deposits, and Digital Bonds

After introducing cryptocurrency custody, Deutsche Bank plans to help customers move funds into and out of mainstream stablecoins. These services would link conventional money transfers with digital tokens designed to track the values of underlying currencies.

The lender also intends to offer tokenized deposits and to support the issuance of blockchain-based securities, including digital bonds. Tokenized deposits represent claims on bank deposits recorded on digital infrastructure, while digital bonds record securities on blockchain-based systems.

Podobnik said the bank expects blockchain-based products to sit alongside traditional financial services. Deutsche Bank's September announcement likewise described a phased introduction tied to customer demand and regulatory conditions.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Key Levels Face Tests

Bitcoin traded near $81,400 at the time of reporting, having recovered from a weekly low around $79,800, and hovered close to its 50-day moving average at $81,279. A move above $82,000 would put $84,200 in focus — a level trader Ardi identified as the threshold for breaking the pattern of lower highs. A renewed decline below $79,800 would draw attention back to support near $79,000.

Ethereum traded around $2,450 after briefly dropping toward $2,300 and recovering above $2,400. Technical analysis identified $2,600 as the next nearby recovery level, followed by resistance around $2,700 to $2,800. A sustained break below $2,300 would instead leave the $1,900 support region in view.

The Coinbase Premium Index, a measure of US buying pressure, showed demand weakening further during the latest rebound.