With the stroke of a regulatory pen, Europe’s crypto landscape shifted from murky to mainstream, and German banks wasted no time capitalizing on the clarity.
ING Deutschland launched crypto access for its 3.2 million brokerage customers on February 2, 2026, offering eleven crypto exchange-traded notes with zero order fees on purchases above €1,000. Customers can now buy Bitcoin and Ethereum products without juggling separate exchanges or managing digital wallets. Many beginners appreciate that this lets them use familiar banking interfaces instead of navigating separate crypto exchanges.
ING Deutschland brought crypto to 3.2 million customers with zero fees on larger purchases, eliminating the need for separate exchanges.
The timing wasn’t coincidental. MiCA, the European Union’s all-encompassing crypto regulation, became fully effective on December 30, 2024, ending years of legal uncertainty that kept traditional banks on the sidelines. The framework established predictable compliance rules and a clear operational path, giving institutions the confidence to enter a market they’d previously avoided like a hot stove.
ING’s offering includes physically backed ETNs from VanEck, 21Shares, and Bitwise, all traded on regulated exchanges through its Direct Depot platform. These products track individual cryptocurrency performance and integrate seamlessly into existing securities accounts. Customers can even set up automatic savings plans, treating crypto investments like any traditional asset.
But ING isn’t marching alone. DZ Bank received BaFin approval on January 13, 2026, for its meinKrypto platform serving 672 cooperative banks including Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken.
The service launched with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Cardano, featuring an integrated digital wallet in the VR Banking App. Custody comes from Boerse Stuttgart Digital while EUWAX AG handles trading. DZ Bank’s approval followed approximately one year of pilot trials that began in December 2024.
Openbank, owned by Santander, beat both to market on September 16, 2025, offering spot crypto trading with a 1.49 percent fee and just a one-euro minimum. The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, Germany’s savings bank network, plans its own launch by summer 2026.
This isn’t just a German phenomenon. Banks across Spain and throughout the EU are rolling out crypto services, leveraging their existing customer bases against standalone platforms.
The shift makes sense: traditional banks processed 55.2 million securities transactions in 2025 alone, giving them distribution power that crypto-native companies can’t match. ING Deutschland closed 2025 with €134.6 billion in deposit volume and brokerage accounts that expanded from 2.8 million to 3.2 million users.
Germany’s tax treatment sweetens the deal further. Capital gains remain tax-exempt if crypto is held over one year, identical to direct holdings.
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