Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) is taking proactive steps toward entering the digital assets space.

What Happened: The Frankfurt, Germany-based investment bank formally requesting regulatory approval to provide custody services for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

"We’re building out our digital assets and custody business,” David Lynne, the head of Deutsche Bank's commercial banking division, said. “We just put our application into the [regulatory authority] BaFin for the digital asset license,” he added.

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Why It Matters: Submitting an application to BaFin is an integral component of Deutsche Bank’s broader initiative to boost revenue within its corporate banking sector, Bloomberg reported.

Furthermore, it's reflective of similar endeavors within Deutsche Bank's investment subsidiary, DWS Group, which is also actively exploring avenues to bolster revenue through products and services associated with digital assets.

There was chatter regarding Deutsche’s corporate banking segment’s embracing digital asset custody back in 2020. Specifics regarding the service launch were ambiguous at the time.

During that phase, Stefan Hoops was at the helm of the corporate banking division. The baton was passed to Lynne approximately a year ago when Hoops assumed the role of CEO at DWS.

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