Metaco announced today that DZ BANK has selected its technological solution for the custody of digital assets. The bank has 297 billion euros ($315 billion) in assets under custody and plans to use the solution for digital securities and digital currencies. Since the middle of last year, Metaco has secured German DekaBank, BNP Paribas Securities Services, SocGen Forge and Citi as clients.

We reported on DZ’s digital asset custody plans in October 2022. Holger Meffert, who heads the bank’s securities management division, told us that a key driver was demand for banks, particularly one of its main clients, Union Investment. .

While it may not be a household name, Union Investment has €427 billion ($452 billion) in assets under management and is one of the most DLT-friendly asset managers in the world. For example, it has participated in euro-denominated EIB blockchain bond issuances on both the public and private blockchains. Last week, DZ BANK and Union Investment bought the Siemens digital bond issued on a public blockchain.

And in January, DZ BANK and Union Investment traded an over-the-counter derivative contract as a smart contract. Follow similar experiments by DZ and Deutsche Börse a couple of years ago.

“In terms of our security, scalability and future requirements of our digital asset custody initiative for institutional clients, starting with crypto values ​​according to the German eWpG, Metaco Harmonize has proven to be a powerful solution that is fit for purpose and can support our Envisioned operating model,” said Nils Christopeit, Head of Design for Digital Custody Solutions at DZ BANK.

The German eWpG legislation allows digital securities registered in a central registry or “crypto-securities”, such as stocks, bonds or other financial instruments issued on a public or private blockchain.

Meanwhile, in addition to the four new clients mentioned, Metaco also provides its technology to DBS Bank and is supported by Standard Chartered.