The bank, founded in the 18th century, is moving into the very modern world of digital assets such as bitcoin. It is far from alone: a number of such lenders have jumped into this trend.

One of the oldest European banks is entering the ultra-modern world of digital assets, adding to a number of lenders who have entered the space and increasingly taken it into the mainstream.

Hamburg-based Donner & Reuschel, founded in 1798, with more than €9 billion ($10.7 billion) in assets under management, intends to set up a crypto-assets desk, providing custody. When that desk is created, it will move towards the tokenisation of assets.  

The bank has enlisted DLC Distributed Ledger Consulting GmbH as its consultant partner, it said. 

“We have been observing the digital assets market for some time now and are convinced of the potential of blockchain technology, also with regard to traditional securities transactions."

This news service has already reported on how a number of banks and large financial groups are pushing into the space, a situation that coincides with a rise in bitcoin’s price, pushing over $60,000 a few days ago. Among the firms WealthBriefing interviewed recently was Nickel Digital Asset Management. The fact that JP Morgan, BNY Mellon, Guggenheim Partners and others are involved in the space has prompted some commentators to think that digital assets are no longer a fringe interest for geeks and those alarmed about central bank money printing.

In early March, Swiss bank Bordier & Cie said that clients can buy, hold and trade cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin over Sygnum’s business-to-business banking platform which the bank has worked with. In January 2020, Julius Baer launched a digital assets trading and storage service through a partnership with FINMA-licensed Seba Bank - founded in April 2018 by former UBS bankers. In early 2019 Vontobel brought out its Digital Asset Vault, enabling clients to buy, hold and transfer such assets within the bank infrastructure.