[Digital Today reporter Yoonseo Lee] Deutsche Bank in Japan is awaiting regulatory approval ahead of launching a digital asset custody service for European institutional investors and corporate clients.

Cointelegraph, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Tuesday that Deutsche Bank plans to start the service for its first customers within this year if the licensing process is completed as scheduled.

The initial supported assets are bitcoin, ethereum and some stablecoins. The bank included Circle’s USDC and EURC and AllUnity EUR on its priority support list. It plans to later expand custody to tokenised financial products.

Deutsche Bank is pursuing approval for the service under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA. Heinrich Frumsdorf (하인리히 프룀스도르프), a Deutsche Bank spokesman, said he expects to receive the licence in October. He added that the actual launch timing depends on completion of the regulatory schedule.

The move aligns with Deutsche Bank’s broader push to expand its cryptocurrency business. In 2023, it first disclosed plans for a crypto custody business in cooperation with Swiss-based digital asset infrastructure company Taurus. It also applied for a digital asset custody licence in Germany at the time.

In June, Sabih Behzad (사비 베흐자드), head of digital assets, mentioned the possibility of entering the stablecoin market. He said the bank is also considering options including issuing its own token, prompting expectations it could expand beyond custody into issuance and distribution. The latest announcement extends that line by detailing plans to build infrastructure first for institutional clients.

Europe’s regulatory environment is also helping accelerate the rollout. MiCA went into full effect from July. This has allowed large financial institutions to review more clearly the possibility of bringing crypto custody and trading and stablecoin-related services into the regulated system.

Similar moves are continuing across Germany’s banking sector. Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg began an institutional custody service in April 2024 in partnership with Austria-based Bitpanda. DZ Bank has also said it secured approval to operate its meinKrypto platform after receiving MiCA authorisation from Germany’s financial regulator BaFin in December 2025.

Deutsche Bank is one of the global systemically important banks designated by the Financial Stability Board. As a result, once the authorisation is completed, it could become an opportunity for crypto custody businesses at large European commercial banks to move a step further into the regulated system. The next key point will be whether it can secure its first customers within the year and whether the MiCA approval timeline it expects for October aligns with that plan.