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German banks get access to bitcoin trading platform

Brian McGleenon
Updated ·2-min read
bitcoin Skyline cityscape of Frankfurt, Germany during sunny day with german flag. Frankfurt Main in a financial capital of Europe
A new platform will allow 1,200 German banks the ability to offer bitcoin trading to their customers. Photo: Getty (nantonov via Getty Images)

A new platform has been launched that allows 1,200 German banks to offer bitcoin (BTC-USD) trading to their customers.

DWPBank, a leading Frankfurt-based bank, has announced plans to integrate bitcoin into its banking systems.

The digital asset platform, called wpNex, will allow 1,200 affiliated German banks to offer their customers the ability to buy and sell bitcoin while carrying out online banking activities, according to DWPBank.

Read more: Crypto live prices

"DWPBank wants to connect the world of traditional securities business with the world of trading digital assets," DWPBank said.

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"To this end, it uses its central position in the German financial market with established interfaces to around 1,200 banks and savings banks and expands its portfolio to include trading and safekeeping of new assets."

DWPBank CEO Heiko Beck said the bank planned to expand its range of services by adding other cryptocurrencies, digital assets and tokenised securities to the new platform.

He said: "Digitised assets will become increasingly important in the future.

"That is why we are expanding our range of services in this area and focusing our portfolio more closely on the future opportunities that arise here."

The new digital asset platform was first trialed by MLP Banking AG, a client of DWPBank.

Read more: Bitcoin price falls below $28,000 after Coinbase's SEC notice

Head of account and securities settlement at MLP Banking AG Paul Utzat said: "In our MLP client portal, it is a logical addition to the existing wealth management offering."

Germany has been named one of the world’s most favourable countries for crypto, in a report by Coincub.

In February, another German bank, DZ Bank, also announced plans to offer bitcoin trading for its customers.

DZ Bank is Germany’s second-largest bank by assets with 8,500 branch offices across the country.

Watch: The reasons why UK banks are blocking crypto exchanges | The Crypto Mile

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