Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), the largest federal bank in Germany, has announced a strategic partnership with European crypto platform Bitpanda.
Under the agreement, LBBW and Bitpanda will collaborate to provide the bank’s corporate clients with a regulated platform for the custody and procurement of crypto assets in the coming months, aiming to break into the German crypto market, which it describes as “continuously evolving”.
At the heart of this deal, the bank will be provided with an “Investing-as-a-Service” infrastructure that will be used, among other things, for the custody and procurement of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital assets.
Stefanie Münz, Member of the Board of Management of LBBW, commented: “With the custody of crypto assets, we are positioning ourselves with clear added value for our corporate customers – while guaranteeing the highest security standards.
“Bitpanda provides the necessary technical and regulatory infrastructure to offer our customers innovative and, above all, secure solutions in the field of digital assets.”
Initially, LBBW will work together with Bitpanda to offer cryptocurrency custody services designed for corporate clients. The pilot market launch is scheduled for the latter half of 2024, with Bitpanda serving as the long-term technology supplier in this alliance.
The bank has emphasised that it has focused on participating in the market at such an early stage, which will allow it to establish itself and complement its existing digital asset offering.
Jürgen Harengel, COO Corporate Bank at LBBW, said: “The demand for digital assets from our enterprise customers is increasing. We are convinced that crypto assets will establish themselves as a building block for further business models.
“With this cooperation, we are creating the technical and regulatory basis at an early stage to support the individual crypto strategies of our corporate clients in the best possible way.”
The bank selected Bitpanda as it boasts one of the most secure and highly regulated cryptocurrency platforms in the industry, holding a MiFiD II licence for investment firms, an e-money licence under PSD2 and multiple crypto licences and registrations as a virtual asset provider across various European countries.
With a user base exceeding four million, the European fintech firm has emerged as one of the go-to platforms for digital assets within the EU. The firm already has strong ties in Germany, becoming the official crypto trading partner of Bayern Munich in January.
Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, CEO of Bitpanda Technology Solutions, remarked: “This partnership marks a milestone. LBBW is leading the way in the interests of its customers and showing how tradition and experience can go hand in hand with innovative strength, agility and pioneering spirit. We are pleased to be able to support LBBW from now on.”
