According to the firms’ statements to Reuters, Bitpanda and Deutsche Bank will collaborate to handle user deposits and withdrawals for the Austrian cryptocurrency exchange.
Consequently, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Capital Corp., and Signature Bank in 2023, all of which had a sizable client base of people involved in the cryptocurrency space, historically troubled the cryptocurrency sector in securing banking relationships.
However, Deutsche will give local bank account numbers to Bitpanda users in Germany. This marks the latest indication that the cryptocurrency space is becoming more integrated with traditional finance.
This implies that the biggest bank in Germany will handle deposits and withdrawals of fiat money from Bitpanda. Customers cannot send money to cryptocurrency exchanges through certain institutions.
Bitpanda, a 2014-founded company based in Vienna, claims to have over 4 million members and to sell fractional stocks, cryptocurrencies, and precious metals.
Authorities worry that the turmoil in the cryptocurrency market would affect traditional finance as the two become more connected. However, economists say this is still unlikely.
Ole Matthiessen, worldwide head of cash management at Deutsche, stated that the company has adopted a “very cautious” stance.
“We only work with very selective partners and clients who demonstrate strong compliance processes, operate in a regulated environment and meet our heightened expectations from a risk perspective,” Matthiessen wrote in a reply to a question.
According to Matthiessen, Deutsche assists clients with transfers into and out of their portfolio while assisting Bitpanda’s treasury and payment procedures. Deutsche does not participate in the transfer of any cryptocurrency through the Bitpanda agreement.
Deutsche’s worldwide head of merchant solutions, Kilian Thalhammer, stated that the company aimed to become “the bank of choice for the high-potential platforms” in the virtual asset investing space.
According to a Deutsche Bank representative, Bitpanda is the bank’s first client of that kind in its Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. The bank also has a similar relationship with Hashkey, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Hong Kong.
According to a representative for the exchange, Bitpanda is already a corporate client of Deutsche’s in Austria and Spain, but these relationships are not customer-facing.
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