Ramazan Eles 
Germany’s largest federal bank, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, is set to enter the cryptocurrency market by offering custody services in collaboration with the Bitpanda exchange.
According to a statement released on Monday, LBBW and Bitpanda will commence providing crypto custody solutions to institutional and corporate clients from the second half of 2024.
Jürgen Harengel, the managing director of corporate banking at LBBW, stated, “The demand from our corporate customers for digital assets is increasing.”
German financial institutions and asset managers are increasingly engaging in crypto assets, offering custodial services and developing their own products to cater to this growing market segment. Deutsche Bank is actively developing its digital asset custody service, while its DWS unit is involved in a consortium working on a euro-denominated stablecoin.
LBBW, whose stakeholders include various savings banks, the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, and the city of Stuttgart, boasts approximately €333 billion ($355 billion) in assets.