DZ Bank has been approved by BaFin to operate a cryptocurrency platform serving 700 cooperative banks, supporting Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin , and Cardano for retail customers.
DZ Bank, one ofGermany's largest banking groups by total assets, has overcome a key regulatory hurdle by securing a license under the European Union's Cryptocurrency Market Regulation (MiCA). This is a significant step forward, allowing the bank to legally operate cryptocurrency services within the EU.
According to an announcement on Wednesday, DZ Bank has received approval from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to operate the “meinKrypto” platform. This platform is designed to provide cryptocurrency trading infrastructure for approximately 700 banks within Germany's cooperative banking network and will be rolled out to participating local banks in the coming months.
Distributed operating model
According to the operating mechanism, DZ Bank will Vai as the central operating unit of the platform, while each cooperative bank will decide for itself whether or not to provide cryptocurrency services to its retail customers. Each participating bank must submit a separate MiCA notification to BaFin before Transaction Triggers , ensuring full compliance with legal requirements.
Upon launch, the service package will support four digital assets: Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin , and Cardano. These assets are integrated directly into the VR Banking App as a self-managed investment option actively managed by customers, creating a seamless experience for end users.
The MiCA license marks a shift from the planning stage to the implementation stage in DZ Bank's crypto asset strategy, following years of compliance and legal preparation by European financial institutions. MiCA establishes a unified legal framework for crypto assets and related services across the European Union, replacing Shard national regulatory mechanisms with a single supervisory standard.
The “meinKrypto” platform was developed by DZ Bank in collaboration with Atruvia, an IT service provider for the German cooperative finance group. This partnership leverages the technological capabilities and compliance experience of both parties to build infrastructure that meets the stringent standards of MiCA.
This move follows a plan announced in September 2024 when DZ Bank partnered with Boerse Stuttgart Digital to bring cryptocurrency trading and custody services to cooperative banking networks. The current approval resolves a key uncertainty, providing a clear legal basis for operating cryptocurrency services on a large scale within the EU.
Although widespread retail access is not immediately available due to the requirement for individual bank approval, this license places DZ Bank among the first major banking groups to implement MiCA in operational practice, paving the way for the development of crypto asset services within the traditional European banking system.
