Following successful partnerships with DZ Bank and Intesa Sanpaolo, the Stuttgart Stock Exchange is also in talks with other institutional investors to expand its cryptocurrency trading infrastructure.
Stuttgart Stock Exchange Expands Crypto Trading Infrastructure, Targets More Institutional Clients
The exchange aims to position itself as a key infrastructure provider for banks and brokers looking to enter the crypto space.
“We are in talks with banks and brokers across Europe about potential cooperation in the crypto space. Some talks are already well underway,” Börse Stuttgart CEO Matthias Voelkel said in an interview.
Italian banking giant Intesa Sanpaolo recently completed its first Bitcoin transaction using the Stuttgart Stock Exchange’s institutional trading infrastructure.
But the most significant development is its partnership with DZ Bank, which has developed a solution for Germany’s 700 cooperative banks in collaboration with Atruvia.
Starting this summer, these banks will allow retail customers to buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, with trading and custody handled by the Stuttgart Stock Exchange.
“Estimates that around 10% of cooperative bank clients could be trading crypto are realistic,” Voelkel said, adding that he expects significant participation.
Considering that cooperative banks in Germany serve more than 30 million customers, this represents a major opportunity for the Stuttgart Stock Exchange.
Currently, the Stuttgart Stock Exchange serves over 1 million individual crypto customers, mainly through the Bison trading app.
The custody division holds around €4.5 billion worth of cryptocurrencies for retail clients and offers trading for 26 cryptocurrencies, with plans for further expansion in 2025.
Voelkel announced that the exchange’s digital business will account for 25% of total revenues in 2024. The group aims to increase these revenues in the coming years by focusing on crypto trading and custody services rather than tokenization.
*This is not investment advice.
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