Commerzbank and Deutsche Börse Subsidiary Crypto Finance Join Forces for Digital Assets in Corporate Banking

Partnership provides Commerzbank's corporate clients with professional custody and trading of crypto assets
Commerzbank offers its corporate clients the custody of crypto assets, while Crypto Finance handles their trading
Initially, the offering will focus on the crypto assets bitcoin and ether

Commerzbank and Crypto Finance, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse, are now offering Commerzbank’s corporate clients in Germany secure and easy access to crypto assets. The joint service will initially focus on bitcoin and ether, targeting selected existing Commerzbank corporate clients in Germany.

Under this strategic partnership, Commerzbank will manage the custody of digital assets, while Crypto Finance will ensure their secure trading. This collaboration provides Commerzbank’s corporate clients with seamless and secure and access to crypto assets, without the need to forgo established and regulated structures and partners.

Combined Expertise for New Digital Markets

In November 2023, Commerzbank became the first German universal bank to obtain a crypto custody licence under §1 Abs. 1a Satz 1 Nr. 6 of the German Banking Act (KWG). This licence enables the Bank to offer a broad range of services in the field of digital assets, particularly crypto assets. The Bank can now provide a regulatory-compliant and reliable platform for crypto custody based on blockchain technology. Digitalisation is a high priority for Commerzbank in corporate banking, with the Bank recently recognised as a leader in digitalisation for corporate clients in Germany by the FINANCE Banken Survey 2024.

As a pioneer in digital assets, Crypto Finance has been enabling institutional clients to enter the crypto sector since 2017 through regulated and secure trading and custody services. Established as a FINMA-regulated provider of crypto asset solutions in Switzerland, Crypto Finance has recently expanded its presence in Germany by obtaining four licences from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). This expansion allows the company to offer crypto services to all institutional clients in Germany. The partnership with Commerzbank further strengthens Crypto Finance’s presence in Germany for institutional clients. In effect, this collaboration enhances the role that the Crypto Finance Group plays in the European crypto ecosystem.

“Our offering in digital assets, enables our corporate clients to seize the opportunities presented by bitcoin and ether for the first time,” explained Gernot Kleckner, Divisional Board Member Capital Markets in the Corporate Clients segment at Commerzbank, about the partnership. “We are a reliable and competent partner for our corporate clients in these future markets. Our joint solution represents the highest level of security in the trading and custody of crypto assets, which is also a standard we also share with the Deutsche Börse Group.”

“The partnership with Commerzbank is an important milestone for Crypto Finance as it enables us to offer more companies and institutions in Germany access to regulated crypto services,” said Stijn Vander Straeten, Chief Executive Officer of Crypto Finance. “With a solution tailored to Commerzbank, we are reinforcing our commitment to offering secure digital asset solutions across Europe. We are very much looking forward to the collaboration and to supporting the growing demand for institutional crypto services in Germany and the EU.”

Contact Crypto Finance

Jutta Holtkötter
Phone: +41 41 5524568
E-Mail: press@crypto-finance.com

About Commerzbank

Commerzbank is the leading bank for small and medium-sized enterprises and a strong partner to around 25,500 corporate client groups and nearly 11 million private and business customers in Germany. The bank offers a comprehensive portfolio of financial services across two business segments – Private and Business Clients, and Corporate Clients. Commerzbank handles about 30% of Germany’s foreign trade and is represented internationally in more than 40 countries within its corporate client business. The bank focuses on German SMEs, large corporations, and institutional clients. Internationally, Commerzbank supports clients with business ties to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as well as companies from select future-oriented industries. In the Private and Business Clients segment, the bank supports its customers through the Commerzbank and comdirect brands: online and mobile, in advisory centres, and in person on-site. Its Polish subsidiary, mBank S.A., is an innovative digital bank serving around 5.7 million private and corporate clients mainly in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

About Crypto Finance

The Crypto Finance Group consists of two FINMA-regulated financial institutions and a BaFin-regulated subsidiary in Germany. As part of Deutsche Börse Group, Crypto Finance AG offers professional solutions for digital assets to institutional clients. These include one of the first FINMA-licensed securities houses providing 24/7 brokerage services, as well as custody, staking, infrastructure, and tokenisation solutions. Headquartered in Switzerland, the Crypto Finance Group has obtained four BaFin licences in Germany to offer trading and custody services. The company intends to expand its services in Germany and across Europe in line with the MiCA timeline.