Approximately 14 hours ago, the German government sold roughly 5 million worth of bitcoin, reducing its holdings to about 40,359 BTC. However, recent activity has increased the total back to 41,226 BTC. German Bitcoin Divestment Followed by Inflows From Major Exchanges This movement, along with transactions involving large bitcoin wallets like those of the German […]
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Germany’s Largest Federal Lender LBBW Ventures Into Crypto Custody, Targets Mid-2024 Launch
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), Germany’s largest federal bank, has announced plans to offer crypto custody services later in the year. LBBW revealed its collaboration with Bitpanda, based in Austria, and stated that it will begin these services focusing on bitcoin and ethereum, the top two cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. LBBW and Bitpanda Collaborate to Offer Bitcoin […]
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Germany’s DZ Bank to Offer Crypto Custody With Swiss Firm Metaco
The second-largest bank in Germany, DZ Bank, is preparing to become a provider of custody services for crypto assets. The offering will be facilitated by a partnership with Metaco, a Swiss company that specializes in helping financial institutions to operate in the digital asset space.
DZ Bank to Use Metaco’s Harmonize Platform to Launch Crypto Custody Services
DZ Bank, part of Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken which is one of the largest banking groups in Germany, is going to employ a platform built by Metaco to offer institutional clients services in the field of digital currencies and crypto securities, the fintech announced.
Regulated by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin), DZ Bank is an established custodian and Germany’s second-largest bank by asset size. At the end of 2022, it had €297 billion (almost 5 billion) worth of assets under custody.
Metaco, founded in Switzerland in 2015, is focused on enabling financial and non-financial institutions to conduct crypto operations. Its infrastructure allows such players to store and trade cryptocurrencies, tokenize other assets, provide staking services, and manage smart contracts.
Under the cooperation, DZ Bank intends to use Metaco’s core product, an orchestration platform for digital assets called Harmonize, to integrate its new offering into its current asset management services. “Metaco’s digital asset technology infrastructure is purposely designed to support financial institutions to capitalize on the digital asset economy,” commented Craig Perrin, chief sales officer at Metaco.
The German bank, which puts an emphasis on regulatory compliance and security, selected it through an extensive proof-of-concept and diligence process, the press release noted. Nils Christopeit, lead solution design digital custody at DZ BANK, elaborated:
In terms of our security, scalability, and future requirements of our digital asset custody initiative for institutional clients, starting with crypto securities as per the German eWpG, Metaco Harmonize has proven to be a powerful solution.
Christopeit was referring to the Electronic Securities Act (Gesetz zur Einführung elektronischer Wertpapiere, abbreviated eWpG in German), which was adopted in 2021 to update the country’s securities legislation and the relevant supervisory framework. The law, which entered into force on June 10 of that year, is a key element of the blockchain strategy approved by the federal government in Berlin.
Do you think other major German banks will take advantage of the opportunity to provide services related to digital assets? Tell us in the comments section below.
Germanys Second-Top Exchange Brse Stuttgart Lists Ripple and Litecoin-Based ETNs
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Nimiq Acquires 9.9 Stake in Germany’s WEG AG to Become Bank’s Third Crypto Firm Owner
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Germanys No.2 Stock Exchange Launches Mobile App for Crypto Trading
Stock exchange operator Boerse Stuttgart Group has launched a mobile app for German cryptocurrency traders.
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Germany’s 2nd Largest Stock Exchange Boerse Stuttgart Launches Crypto Trading App
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Prosecutors Sell 1,000 Bitcoin in Germany’s Largest Cybercrime Sale
Bamberg cybercrime specialists have sold over 1,000 Bitcoin and other coins for more than €12 million (.9 million) since February 2018. The cryptocurrencies were seized from a platform that had 30,000 users and is the highest sale of seized Bitcoin in Germany.
‘Emergency Sale’ Due to Volatility
The amount of Bitcoin was sold over two months from February 20 in an emergency sale due to the high volatility that affects the cryptocurrency markets. In total, 1,312 Bitcoins (BTC) were sold alongside 1,399 Bitcoin Cash (BCH), 1,312 Bitcoin Gold (BTG), and 220 Ether (ETH). The coins were sold on a German-based trading platform and involved more than 1,600 transactions.
State prosecutors said: “Since all cryptocurrencies are exposed to the risk of high price fluctuations or even total loss, an emergency sale was ordered by the Central Office of Cybercrime Bavaria.”
The price of Bitcoin has fluctuated from near ,000 to ,500 over the past six months. On February 20, Bitcoin was worth around ,500 and was down to ,400 by April 20, around the time the final coins were sold. NewsBTC reports that Bitcoin is in a bearish trend and is hitting a crucial point of support, which it needs to remain above in order to prevent further mid-year lows. This is the third time this year that Bitcoin has tested this support.
The cryptocurrency was seized from the LuL.to portal which illegally offered more than 200,000 e-books and audiobooks for sale. This platform was used by more than 30,000 people. In June, investigators from the Cyber Crime Competence Center of the LKA Sachsen and the Central Office of Cybercrime Bavaria (ZCB) arrested the alleged operators and stopped the site from operating.
The investigators were able to access the cryptocurrencies after the officials decided to cooperate. Unlike funds held in bank accounts which can be accessed by police in such cases, cryptocurrencies cannot be accessed unless the investigator has the private key. A study by Chainalysis highlighted that almost a quarter of Bitcoins in current circulation may be lost forever due to factors including users losing their private keys.
The next biggest sale in Germany was by Hessian Internet Investigators in collaboration with the FBI and Europol. These proceeds were from popular dark net sites including Silk Road 2.0 and Hydra. At the time of the sale, the Bitcoins were worth €1.9 million (.2 million), up from €50,000 (,000) when they were taken. These were also sold as an emergency sale as Bitcoin is deemed by the German authorities as a perishable good with a value could, in theory, reduce to zero. This type of sale is otherwise used for confiscated food or cars that could lose value over time.
Previously, the German authorities in Leipzig sold 1,197 Bitcoins netting them €432,000 (0,000). These were taken from the Shiny Flakes platform and would be worth €7.6 million (.8 million). In Bulgaria, authorities are sitting on 213,519 Bitcoins, worth .5 billion.
In November, NewsBTC reported that this would have been able to pay off a fifth of their national debt. The money was seized in May 2017 in response to a large number of cases of customs fraud where 23 arrests were made after police searched more than 100 properties. This included five Bulgarian customs officials.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
The post Prosecutors Sell 1,000 Bitcoin in Germany’s Largest Cybercrime Sale appeared first on NewsBTC.
Germany’s Largest Stock Exchange Mulls Over Blockchain Move
Deutsche Börse AG, which owns the largest German stock exchange, is examining a potential move into the blockchain space according to reports.
This follows the introduction of Bitcoin Futures by American rivals and plans for a cryptocurrency trading app by the #2 German stock exchange.
Race to Catch up with Rivals
Head of clients, products and core markets, Jeffrey Tessler spoke at an industry event on Wednesday, which was organized by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe. At the London event, he stated that they are looking into offering cryptocurrency products and are ‘deep at work’.
Bloomberg reported that Tessler said: “Before we move forward with anything like Bitcoin we want to make sure we understand the underlying transaction which isn’t the easiest thing to do.”
Blockchain technology offers several advantages in the financial sector, including greater speed and transparency of transactions. However, it has not yet become user-friendly as addresses are currently hash functions and there can be mistakes when cryptocurrencies are integrated into exchanges. Some banks have been quick to adapt to the potential, and Santander recently released an app for cross-border transactions called One Pay FX.
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/main-newsbtc-images/2018/05/24131431/frankfurt-main-3285693_1920-600x450.jpg)
Frankfurt is Germany’s financial capital, followed by Munich
Deutsche Börse AG owns the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, which is the world’s 10th largest stock exchange by market cap. It has attempted to merge with the London Stock Exchange on several occasions and was recently blocked from doing so in 2017 by the European Commission. In November, NewsBTC reported on German Fintech company Naga Group AG, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, launching their blockchain-based ecosystem for financial trading.
Rival German stock exchange Börse Stuttgart announced plans in April that they will release a cryptocurrency trading app this year. Sowa Labs, a subsidiary of the exchange, will provide commission-free trading for several of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap. The application will be called Bison and is aimed to be released in September.
German Banks Await Regulation
Even though Deutsche Boerse are considering the move, Tessler expressed caution. He said: “We want to understand the volatility and make sure clients are in line and make sure regulators are in line.”
There is a lot of volatility in cryptocurrency markets as prices can fluctuate by 10% or more daily. This is likely to decrease as the technology becomes more widely used. Institutions have to be more careful about regulation than individuals as they are subject to legal requirements. One possible restriction will be GDPR as holders of information of EU citizens will be required to delete information if requested and this may not be possible on an immutable ledger.
Commerzbank announced today that they successfully used blockchain technology to confirm an FX transaction with ThyssenKrupp. They expressed support over the potential benefits of using distributed ledger technology, but pointed out that the regulations are needed to implement it across the board.
In a statement, Commerzbank said: “However, to fully realize these efficiency gains, technical, regulatory and legal requirements need to further develop.”
Blockchain companies across the world are waiting for regulation and some are actively seeking it. Ripple, who donated m in XRP to Ellen DeGeneres’ wildlife fund yesterday, have stated publicly that they aim to work with regulators. He argued the blockchain revolution will happen inside the system, instead of bringing it down.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
The post Germany’s Largest Stock Exchange Mulls Over Blockchain Move appeared first on NewsBTC.
Germany’s No. 2 Stock Exchange Unveils Crypto Trading App
Boerse Stuttgart’s fintech subsidiary is rolling out a no-fee app to trade bitcoin, ether, litecoin and ripple.
CoinDesk