Deutsche Bank, top German investment bank applied for a digital asset license with the German regulator, BaFin.

Deutsche Bank AG has submitted a request to the relevant authorities for authorization to provide custodial services for digital assets such as crypto currencies, which could potentially open up new opportunities in this rapidly growing sector. The request by the bank is a move to start earning from assets related to cryptocurrencies.

“We’re building out our digital assets and custody business,” David Lynne, who runs the lender’s commercial banking unit, said at a conference Tuesday. “We just put our application into Bafin for the digital asset license,” 

Undying interest in the digital assets space

Bafin is the authority in charge of financial services in Germany. The report from Bloomberg said it is part of the bank’s drive to boost its revenue through its investment arm, DWS Group.  The announcement may be a sequel to a 2020 hint by the bank that it had plans to introduce a digital asset custodial service.

Deutsche Bank has been one of the foremost big global banks that has shown interest in custodial service for institutional investors. Even though the person in charge of the division then was Stefan Hoops, he seems to have been the arrowhead in the drive for the policy. Hoops has since been redeployed as the CEO of DWS.