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Deutsche Boerse: BTC and ETH custody for institutional investors is about to begin
By Davide Grammatica
The Deutsche Boerse group, through its trading unit Clearstream, plans to launch new Bitcoin and Ethereum custody services for institutional clients
Growing adoption in Europe
According to rumors reported by Bloomberg, the Deutsche Boerse group, through its trading unit Clearstream, is preparing to launch new Bitcoin and Ethereum custody services for its more than 2,500 institutional clients.
The German giant is thus responding to the growing demand from European investors for crypto assets, with Clearstream acting through its Swiss subsidiary Crypto Finance AG and also targeting services such as staking, lending and brokerage.
“We are creating a one-stop shop for custody, brokerage and settlement,” said Jens Hachmeister, Clearstream executive.
This is yet another step forward in terms of crypto adoption in Europe, made possible by greater regulatory clarity following the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which came into force last December.
Pros and cons of MiCA
This step forward could, however, also overshadow several collateral difficulties, especially with regard to retail customers. In fact, as more and more institutions approach the sector, some analysts believe that MiCA could complicate entry into the crypto world for retail customers, due to “excessive regulation”.
Greater regulatory control throughout the EU seems to be followed by greater operational difficulty, with users obliged to provide more information and face increasing taxes.
New coercive actions against blockchain protocols that do not comply with MiCA standards are not excluded in the future, with European governments committed to taking new legal action against non-compliant platforms.
Furthermore, at a corporate level, there are those who fear a real exodus of small companies interested in approaching the sector, preferring more favorable jurisdictions such as those in the Middle East.
