Germany’s Sparkassen savings banks started a phased cryptocurrency trading rollout in their banking app on Oct. 19, the German Savings Banks Association (DSGV) said, extending access to customers at participating institutions.
Customers use the Sparkasse app to open a separate crypto account at DekaBank, which provides trading and custody. They can trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL) and Polygon (POL). Account holders make their own decisions without investment advice from their local savings bank.
As of Oct. 20, DekaBank listed five participating Sparkassen: Frankfurter Sparkasse, Sparkasse Rottal-Inn, Niederrheinische Sparkasse RheinLippe, Taunus Sparkasse and Sparkasse Karlsruhe. Availability depends on the customer’s local bank; the rollout does not yet extend across the entire network.
Each purchase or sale incurs a €0.99 fee. DekaBank also builds a spread into its quoted price relative to a market reference price. Its pricing document gives no fixed spread rate or minimum order and caps each transaction at €250,000.
DekaBank holds customers’ private keys in a jointly managed omnibus wallet. Withdrawals are limited to wallet addresses at four specified crypto-asset service providers, excluding direct transfers to personal hardware wallets. The bank warns that customers could lose their full investment and that crypto holdings lack statutory deposit protection.
DekaBank and Boerse Stuttgart Digital said in October 2025 that Boerse Stuttgart Digital would provide liquidity for the retail offering. The companies had worked together for institutional clients since 2024. DekaBank executive Marion Spielmann said its in-house infrastructure would keep more of the crypto business within the Sparkassen group.
The DSGV expects 30 to 40 additional Sparkassen to join each month as the rollout continues.
