The service was established at the end of January 2019 for users of the BISON app and extended at the end of September 2019 for users of Boerse Stuttgart Digital Exchange (BSDEX). Looking ahead, blocknox plans to offer custody services for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets also to institutional clients such as fintechs, banks and asset managers.

“As a pioneer in Germany, blocknox has already been operating as a custodian of cryptocurrencies for more than one year. Now we want institutional clients to benefit from our experience and set-up as well. They can use blocknox’s reliable custody as a building block for their own services around digital assets,” says Dr Ulli Spankowski, Managing Director of blocknox GmbH, a subsidiary of Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures GmbH. A multilevel security concept has been developed and implemented at blocknox for the custody of cryptocurrencies.

With regard to the new legal regulation of crypto custody in Germany as of 1 January 2020, blocknox has already announced its intent to the supervisory authorities to apply for the required licence. This means the licence is deemed to have been granted provisionally. blocknox will submit the final application by the specified deadline. In this process, blocknox becomes a regulated financial services provider. “We welcome the regulation of crypto custody as a reasonable step towards further professionalisation of the industry. Thanks to the new legislation, more institutional players are likely to enter the crypto market. We look forward to supporting them as a custody provider,” concludes Dr Spankowski.