Overview
- DZ Bank began rolling out its BaFin‑authorized meinKrypto service on Saturday through member cooperative banks, letting customers buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Cardano inside the VR Banking App.
- DekaBank is preparing a phased launch for Sparkassen savings banks targeting summer 2026 that would give roughly 50 million retail customers access to crypto trading through their existing securities platforms and apps.
- Both networks have contracted Boerse Stuttgart Digital to provide custody, liquidity and trading infrastructure so crypto stays within German supervision and meets MiCA licensing requirements that BaFin began granting in late December 2025.
- Individual savings and cooperative banks choose whether to offer the service and DZ Bank expects hundreds of its nearly 650 member institutions to opt in over time, making the rollout gradual rather than universal.
- Industry groups, academics and regulators warn that cryptocurrencies are highly speculative with a risk of total loss and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has signaled possible tax changes from 2027 that could alter incentives for long‑term crypto holding.