From Startup Fortune · · 1m 30s
Sparkassen Banks Launch Bitcoin Trading for 50M Customers
Germany's largest bank network opens Bitcoin trading to 50 million customers via mobile app.
In brief
Germany's largest bank network opens Bitcoin trading to 50 million customers via mobile app. Sparkassen banks now allow 50 million customers to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, and Polygon directly through their mobile banking app after MiCA regulatory framework approval. Originally reported by Startup…
Sparkassen Mobile App Adds Crypto Trading
Germany's largest banking network now allows customers to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, and Polygon directly through their mobile banking app.
Krypto Powered by Deka Service
The service, called 'Krypto powered by Deka', is built and run by Dekabank, Sparkassen's securities arm with a BaFin digital-asset custody license.
50 Million Customers Reach
Sparkassen serves about 50 million customers across 340 regional savings banks holding more than €1.6 trillion in combined assets.
11 Years of Crypto Ban
Sparkassen blocked crypto purchases outright for eleven years, calling digital assets 'highly speculative' until MiCA's implementation.
MiCA Regulatory Shift
The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, effective December 2024, gave banks a legal path to custody and sell digital assets under consumer-protection rules.
Opt-In Trading Feature
Each of Sparkassen's 370 individual banks decides independently whether to add crypto trading to their mobile app, with adoption happening bank by bank over months.
Compliance Risk Reduction
Sparkassen's move reduces compliance risk enough to stop saying no to 50 million customers who could already buy crypto elsewhere.
The big picture
Sparkassen banks now allow 50 million customers to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, and Polygon directly through their mobile banking app after MiCA regulatory framework approval.
