Sparkassen and DZ Bank Prepare to Bring Crypto Trading to Millions of Germans

Highlights:

• Germany’s Sparkassen and cooperative banks plan to bring crypto trading into everyday banking apps.
• About 50 million customers could access Bitcoin and Ether without using separate crypto exchanges.
• MiCA approval and rising customer demand are pushing German banks closer to regulated crypto services.

Millions of Germans could soon buy and sell cryptocurrency straight from their regular banking apps. Bloomberg reported on July 4 that the country’s two largest banking networks, the Sparkassen savings banks and the cooperative banking sector led by DZ Bank, are building crypto trading services for their customers. The plan would give roughly 50 million people direct access to digital assets without needing a separate exchange or platform.

The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, Germany’s largest banking group, is to provide trading in Bitcoin and Ether via the securities platform of its daughter DekaBank, as well as its mobile app. The group hopes to launch this summer. The second-largest lender in the country, DZ Bank, as the main institution for the network of cooperative banks, has taken even the more decisive step. It already has permission from BaFin, the German financial services authority, for its crypto platform, meinKrypto.

The cryptocurrency market in Germany is expected to gain significant momentum in the coming months as millions of people will soon be able to trade virtual currencies directly through their local banks https://t.co/y2ioEzrESa

— Bloomberg (@business) July 4, 2026

German Banks Shift From Caution to Crypto Access

The plans mark a striking change of direction. Previously, the Sparkassen board voted against offering crypto and described digital assets as “highly speculative.” The group had blocked crypto-related transactions years earlier over concerns about volatility and consumer protection. Now the German Savings Banks Association (DSGV) says it will give customers “reliable access to a regulated crypto offering.”

Rising customer demand helped drive the shift. A survey from last September found that 71% of cooperative banks wanted to offer crypto services to private clients, up from 54% a year earlier. Industry experts see the entry of these mainstream banks as a turning point. Julian Schmeing, a partner at the finance consultancy ZEB, told Bloomberg that crypto has moved beyond a niche audience and is now reaching the wider public.

MiCA Rules Help German Banks Move Into Crypto

Clear regulation played a key role in opening the door. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets rules, known as MiCA, give banks a defined legal framework for offering crypto services. Before MiCA arrived, many banks stayed away because the rules felt uncertain. DZ Bank’s meinKrypto platform received its MiCA authorization from BaFin last December, which lets it operate under proper oversight.

This decision made by Germany may have a significant impact well beyond Germany itself. As the largest economy in Europe, Germany tends to influence developments in surrounding markets. With millions of average customers trading cryptocurrencies via familiar banking portals, digital assets may penetrate the mainstream financial system on a large scale.

Germany has already seen early signs of this shift. Last September, Openbank, the digital bank owned by Santander, launched crypto trading for customers in Germany. The service lets users buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin, Ether, Cardano, Litecoin, and Polygon alongside their other investments, without moving funds to another platform.

Openbank, Banco Santander’s online bank, has started offering retail crypto trading, the latest move by a major European lender into the asset class https://t.co/IcozNgW1at

— Bloomberg (@business) September 16, 2025