Status: 04/30/2022 3:16 p.m
Many bank customers are waiting to get cryptocurrencies from their bank. In fact, more and more German banks are expanding their offerings for private investors.
A cooperative bank is a pioneer: the Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Bayern Mitte eG has had its own crypto offering for a few days. The Volksbank offers its 174,000 customers bitcoins for sale. The regional bank relies exclusively on the oldest cryptocurrency. “In our opinion, bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that offers sufficient security against manipulation. All other crypto values cannot be compared with bitcoin because they are not sufficiently decentralized,” explains Andreas Streb, the bank’s deputy chairman of the board.
Also a machine in planning
“We don’t want to expose our customers to the risk of coming across dubious providers, but rather offer added value as a reputable financial service provider with well-founded services,” says Streb. In particular, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which is often classified as a pure object of speculation, is becoming increasingly important as an alternative investment.
With the new offer, crypto-trained employees are also starting. “In discussions with our members and customers, we found that there is a great need for information about investing in Bitcoins. Since we want to be the first point of contact for all financial matters in the region, we now offer a secure and practical solution for this,” says the Chairman of the Board Richard L. Riedmaier.
In addition, the Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Bayern Mitte eG wants to set up a Bitcoin machine for its customers in the main office in Ingolstadt from July. Euro banknotes can then be exchanged for bitcoins there from the summer.
The “cold wallet” storage method
The Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Bayern Mitte has opted for the “cold wallet” storage method: With the “VR-BitcoinGoCard” the customer receives a storage medium for his bitcoins and his individual private key. This gives him the opportunity to purchase and manage bitcoins. The card makes it possible to store the private key offline at your own risk. There is also no risk of a hacker attack.
Savings banks decide in the summer
And when will customers of the German savings banks be able to buy cryptocurrencies via their account? “There will be a decision on this by the middle of the year,” explains Wiebke Schwarze, spokeswoman for the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV). tagesschau.de. Committees have been discussing the future course for months. The media also reported a conflict of direction within the organization.
“Cryptocurrencies are not investments that savings banks want to offer their customers,” said Bavarian savings bank president Ulrich Reuter. The statement comes from an interview with the news agency Bloomberg. And DSGV President Helmut Schleweis only made a cautious statement at the balance sheet press conference in March. So it is still uncertain whether the savings banks will follow suit. In the end, the regional principle decides. And so each institute can decide for itself what is offered to the customers.
EU rules for the crypto market
Uniform crypto standards are to prevail in the European Union in the future. The EU wants to present a new set of rules in the next few months. The crypto paper is primarily intended to clarify these questions: What requirements does a provider have to meet in order to be able to sell crypto products? What is the best protection for investors? What happens if cryptos are stolen in a hacker attack? The new set of rules should provide all the answers to these questions.
For business customers only
Commerzbank is the first major German bank to announce that it has applied for a so-called crypto custody license from BaFin, the responsible federal agency for financial services supervision. But the procedure is also clear: Commerzbank is only targeting institutional customers, i.e. business customers – private customers are initially left out. The bank is the twenty-fifth company to file such an application with the regulator.
Commerzbank has thus dared to take a strategic step that has been in preparation for years. The money house is still stubbornly silent about detailed plans for the future. In a written statement, the bank shares tagesschau.de in a nutshell: it wants to help shape the market for “custody and trading in non-physical assets”.
According to the head office in Frankfurt, Commerzbank entered into a cooperation with Deutsche Börse and Fintech 360x in spring 2021. Customers can hope to find out more about what concrete offers the big bank is planning for the future, perhaps in the run-up to the upcoming general meeting.