Deutsche WertpapierService Bank (Dwpbank), a German securities processor that serves approximately 1,200 banks in Germany, is launching a new platform called wpNex that will offer Bitcoin trading to all its affiliates’ retail customers in the second half of this year. The new service will include crypto accounts alongside customers’ other accounts and will not require additional Know Your Customer procedures.
Wallet-as-a-service provider, Tangany, and Tradias, a digital asset trading service from Bankhaus Scheich, will join the new offering, according to Dwpbank CEO Heiko Beck. Retail customers will not be responsible for holding private keys, and the platform is expected to expand its range to other cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and tokenized securities in the future.
MLP Banking, an affiliate of Dwpbank, has already signed on to the wpNex platform and has performed a transaction on it. MLP Banking’s account and securities processing head, Paul Utzat, stated that adding crypto to its existing wealth management offering in the MLP customer portal was a logical addition. Transactions on the platform will be linked to customers’ euro cash accounts, eliminating the need for a separate payments account.
Germany has been named one of the world’s most favorable countries for crypto, and DZ Bank announced in February that it would be adding crypto to its asset management service. However, in November, the German crypto bank Nuri shut down under the stress of the crypto bear market, despite having half a million customers. Amidst concerns about instability in European banks, the shares of Deutsche Bank experienced a significant drop on March 24. Deutsche Bank’s asset management division, DWS, is reportedly in talks with Tradias about investing in the service.
