In 2022, the German Savings Banks Association — a network of more than 400 savings banks across Germany – may allow consumers to trade cryptocurrencies directly from their accounts.
As the market leader among Germany’s financial institutions, the service has the potential to provide easy access to crypto to over 50 million individuals.
Cryptocurrency Services Adoption
According to the German magazine “Capital,” a specialized team at S-Payment — an IT services provider – is developing the notion. Customers will be able to purchase cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum directly from their bank accounts.
If the banks accept the concept in early 2022, they might unveil the first edition of their crypto wallet the following year. Other German banks have yet to enter the emerging asset class in this manner.
Individual savings banks will pilot the wallet, with each deciding individually whether to eventually implement cryptocurrency trading. However, it is alleged that the banks involved have expressed an early interest.
“The pilot has generated enormous interest in crypto assets,” a spokeswoman for the German Savings Banks Association said.
Germany enacted a regulation earlier this year that permits certain “special funds” to invest up to 20% of their assets in cryptocurrencies.
An Anti-Inflation Strategy?
The Association’s offering is slated to launch amid a backdrop of global – and especially German – inflation. Helmut Schleweis, head of the German Savings Bank Association, stated that today’s growing costs and low-interest rates create a “toxic cocktail” that is “fueling an irreversible erosion of wealth.”
Bitcoin is rapidly gaining a reputation as an inflation-hedging asset, impervious to reckless money printing that fuels growing inflation. According to a recent Bloomberg research, Bitcoin is the “greatest inflation hedge available,” owing to its remarkable deflation of $99.99 percent from launch.
Bitcoin is fundamentally irreversible, with a limited supply of 21 million coins. Investors such as Michael Saylor have compared it to “digital gold,” while Paul Tudor Jones has characterized it as superior. German citizens may be provided with an alternative to monetary debasement via Bitcoin via a crypto wallet provided by Savings Banks.
