Deutsche Börse Group, one of the world’s largest international exchange organizations, is launching a crypto custody service for institutional clients. The initiative aims to simplify access to digital assets within the traditional financial system (TradFi).
Clearstream, a subsidiary and post-trading services division of Deutsche Börse Group, announced the upcoming launch of a service that will allow large financial institutions to securely store and manage digital assets through its infrastructure.
Clearstream is one of the world’s biggest post-trading operators, managing €19 trillion in assets. It operates the central securities depositories of Germany and Luxembourg, as well as an international depository for the Eurobond market. Clearstream’s infrastructure spans over 55 stock markets, offering services in settlement, asset custody, fund trading, distribution, and digital solutions.
The new service is being implemented with the support of Crypto Finance, which is also part of Deutsche Börse Group. Crypto Finance holds trading and custody licenses from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). In January this year, the company became a licensed crypto-asset service provider under the MiCA regulation.
The service is set to launch in April 2025, addressing the growing interest of institutional investors in digital assets. During the initial phase, Clearstream will support BTC and ETH only, with the potential addition of other cryptocurrencies based on client demand.
According to Jens Hachmeister, Head of Issuer Services & New Digital Markets at Clearstream, institutional access to digital assets will unlock new opportunities and drive their integration into traditional financial markets, accelerating the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Previously, Clearstream’s trading platform was used by the European Central Bank to test DLT systems for tokenized assets and the digital euro (CBDC).
