Crypto Schemes of Savings Banks – Is Germany Now BITCOINized? – business

Attention Sparkasse Customers and Crypto Fans: Sparkasse-FinanzGroup is looking to enable its customers to trade in cryptocurrencies. Maybe next year!

A spokesperson for the savings bank and the Giro association told BILD that it would be openly investigating, “whether it is possible to make an offer to a limited group of customers with which crypto assets can be stored securely in a wallet solution.” could”.

Simply put: Savings banks are looking at offering crypto wallets to at least some customers. Reason: About ten percent (or five million) of the approximately 50 million Sparkasse customers will own or at least deal with crypto assets.

It is not clear what the crypto proposal of savings banks should look like. A BILD spokesperson: “The project is completely open.”

The spokesperson denied reports that Sparkasse customers could use digital currencies through their checking accounts in the future. Widespread penetration into crypto trading is also not planned. The decision will be taken next year.

Still: should savings banks get into the crypto business, bitcoin and company will likely become even more popular. Other financial institutions may follow suit. So Germany can always move on bitcoind Will!

Nothing is officially known about the technical implementation of the Sparkasse crypto schemes. However, expert circles say that savings banks will buy special blockchain systems.

Germany’s leading crypto expert, Prof. Dr. Philipp Sandner, Head of the Blockchain Center at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, explains at BILD: “However, the customer will not see it in the foreground, but only buys the same amount of bitcoin as a share. Possibly from the customer’s first. There will be screening/questionnaires so that the customer can be informed of any risks.”

According to the crypto expert, it can also be assumed that “initially only certain crypto values ​​are integrated. I suspect this will remain the same with bitcoin and ethereum in the beginning.”

Kura: Other banks are also taking their first steps towards crypto. Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Bayern Mitte wants to start bitcoin trading in 2022 and is already offering digital currency-related services to its clients.