Key Points
- Deutsche Börse’s Clearstream post-trade unit will offer crypto settlement and custody services.
- Clearstream will use its Crypto Finance subsidiary as a sub-custodian.
Crypto adoption in Europe is intensifying with the latest push in the industry being made by Deutsche Börse’s post-trade unit, Clearstream which plans to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum services to its institutional clients.
Deutsche Börse is a German multinational corporation that offers a marketplace for organizing the trading of shares and other securities. Clearstream is the post-trade business for global markets, part of the Deutsche Börse Group with over $21.7 billion in AUM as of January 2025.
Institutional Crypto Adoption Advances in Europe
According to official reports from Bloomberg, Clearstream will offer crypto settlement and custody services to its institutional clients later this year, highlighting more efforts to push crypto adoption in Europe.
The financial entity plans to offer services for Bitcoin and Ethereum to its 2,500 clients starting in April, and it will use its subsidiary Crypto Finance as a sub-custodian.
Meanwhile, Clearstream also hopes to launch support for other digital assets and more related services including:
- Staking
- Lending
- Brokerage capabilities
Creating a “One-Stop” Shop Around Custody, Brokerage and Settlement
The head of issuer services and new digital markets at Clearstream, Jens Hachmeister, said that with the offering, the firm would create a “one-stop shop” around custody, brokerage, and settlement.
Bloomberg noted that this move opens the path for the firm to offer its services for other assets including stablecoins and tokenized securities in the future.
The clients of Clearstream’s central securities depository can use their existing accounts with Clearstream Banking SA to access crypto services including custody and settlement.
Clearstream and Crypto Finance, its subsidiary, started planning this offering a year ago, and this strategy is expected to support crypto adoption by large institutions and banks, as these can use technology and compliance tools with which they’re already familiar, Bloomberg notes.
Traditional Finance Enters the Digital Asset Sector
Traditional financial firms have been boosting their presence in the digital asset ecosystem recently amidst clearer regulations that have emerged in the EU, Singapore, and the UAE.
Yesterday, we reported that the Spanish bank BBVA has just received approval to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum trading.
This comes following the arrival of the MiCA regulations in the EU – a crypto framework that offers increased clarity and regulations for the industry in the region, supporting digital asset adoption.
