German Savings Banks Association – a network of over 400 savings banks throughout Germany – may allow customers to start trading cryptocurrencies from their accounts in 2022. As the market leader among Germany’s financial institutions, the service could give easy crypto access to more than 50 million people.
Adopting Crypto Services
As reported by the German magazine “Capital”, the concept is being prepared by a dedicated team at S-Payment – an IT service provider. It will allow customers to purchase cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum directly from their chequing accounts.
If the banks approve the project at the start of 2022, they may launch the first version of their crypto wallet within the year. Other German banks are yet to make such a foray into the emerging asset class.
A pilot of the wallet is set to start with individual savings banks, with each independently deciding whether to ultimately introduce crypto trading. However, the banks involved are reportedly showing early interest.
“The interest in crypto assets is huge,” a spokesman for the German Savings Banks Association said regarding the pilot.
Earlier this year, Germany approved a law allowing certain “special funds” to invest 20% of their assets into cryptocurrency.
An Escape From Inflation?
The Association’s product is set to launch against a backdrop of rising inflation worldwide – including in Germany. Helmut Schleweis – the president of the German Savings Bank Association – said that today’s rising prices and low-interest rates are a “toxic mix fueling an erosion of wealth, which is difficult to stop.
Bitcoin is quickly gaining recognition as an inflation hedge asset, immune to irresponsible money printing that drives rising inflation. A recent Bloomberg analysis deemed Bitcoin “the best inflation hedge around,” citing its impressive $99.99% deflation since inception.
Fundamentally, Bitcoin can neither be created nor destroyed, boasting a fixed supply of 21 million coins. Investors like Michael Saylor have likened it to “digital gold”, while Paul Tudor Jones calls it superior. With a crypto wallet from Savings Banks, German citizens may be granted an alternative to monetary debasement through Bitcoin.
