Germany's Sparkassen to Offer Crypto Trading to 50 Million Customers

Two of Germany's largest banking networks are bringing Bitcoin and Ether trading to roughly 50 million retail customers. The Sparkassen savings bank network and the cooperative banking sector, led by DZ Bank, plan to let clients buy and sell crypto through the same mobile apps they use for everyday banking.

The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, which serves about 50 million retail clients, will launch Bitcoin and Ether trading through DekaBank's securities platform by summer 2026. DZ Bank is moving faster. Its “meinKrypto” platform already secured MiCA authorization from Germany's financial regulator BaFin in late December 2025. That platform targets a launch by the end of 2025.

As recently as 2023, the Sparkassen group labeled digital assets as “highly speculative” and avoided offering anything related to them. Now the German Savings Banks Association (DSGV) talks about providing “reliable access to a regulated crypto offering.”

Customer demand drove the shift. A September 2025 survey found that 71% of cooperative banks expressed interest in offering crypto services to private clients. That figure was 54% the year prior, a 17-percentage-point jump.

Both banking networks are partnering with Boerse Stuttgart Digital to handle infrastructure and liquidity. Boerse Stuttgart Digital is an arm of Germany's second-largest stock exchange.

The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation gives banks a clear legal framework to operate within. That clarity replaced the regulatory gray zone that previously made institutional players nervous.

The cooperative banking sector's appetite jumped from 54% to 71% in one year. Germany is Europe's largest economy. Where German banking goes, other European markets tend to follow. DZ Bank's meinKrypto platform is targeting a launch by the end of 2025.