German Savings Banks Launch App Trading for Bitcoin, Ether and Three Other Tokens

Germany’s Sparkassen savings banks have launched a cryptocurrency trading service, allowing customers to buy and sell major digital assets through the group’s existing app without opening a separate brokerage account.

According to crypto-focused media outlet Odaily, the savings banks began offering the service on Oct. 19 through some participating institutions.

The service supports five tokens: Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL) and Polygon (POL). Trading fees are set at 0.99 euros per order.

The service is supported by German asset manager Dekabank. Crypto custody will be handled together with Boerse Stuttgart.

Each savings bank will decide when to introduce the service based on its own circumstances. The plan is to add about 30 to 40 savings banks each month and expand the offering to most institutions that intend to adopt it by the first half of 2027.

Joachim Schmalzl, an executive at the German Savings Banks Association, or DSGV, said the service is aimed at customers who want to trade and hold cryptocurrencies directly. Sparkassen will not provide investment advice on digital assets and do not plan to market the service aggressively at first.

The savings banks also warned that cryptocurrencies are high-risk assets with sharp price volatility and that investors could lose their entire principal. Traditional securities investing, installment savings products and financial advisory services will remain core businesses.