The adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has been gaining momentum around the world, and now it seems that Germany is poised to join the growing trend.

The Deutsche WertpapierService Bank AG (dwpbank), which provides securities services to around 1,200 German banks and savings banks, has announced that it is launching a new platform called wpNEX, which will allow all its affiliated banks to offer their customers Bitcoin and other digital assets.

This is a major breakthrough for the adoption of cryptocurrencies in Germany, as it will give more than a thousand banks and savings banks access to the infrastructure necessary to offer their customers crypto services. The first bank to take advantage of this new service is the MLP Banking AG, which plans to offer crypto trading to its retail customers in the second half of this year.

According to Dr. Paul Utzat, the head of account and securities settlement at MLP Banking AG, offering cryptocurrency trading is a natural extension of the bank’s existing asset management services. With the wpNEX platform, customers will be able to seamlessly integrate their crypto holdings into their online banking portal, alongside their traditional securities and savings accounts. There will be no need for pre-funding, and customers will not have to go through an additional verification process when opening a crypto account.

The platform will be supported by Tangany, a BaFin-regulated custody service that will be responsible for storing private keys, and Bankhaus Scheich / tradias, which will handle the execution of orders and price setting. Additionally, the software provider Valantic will also support the platform.

The launch of wpNEX by dwpbank has set the stage for other banks and savings banks in Germany to follow suit. The DZ Bank, which is the central institute for all around 800 Volksbanks in Germany, has already announced plans to offer Bitcoin trading to its customers by the end of the year. However, there is no clear indication yet as to whether Sparkassen, which are the German savings banks, will join in on this trend. Nonetheless, the introduction of wpNEX and the new crypto trading services it enables, puts pressure on other financial institutions to start catering to the growing demand for cryptocurrencies in Germany.

According to Dr. Heiko Beck, the CEO of dwpbank, this is just the beginning, and in the future, the platform will also enable banks to offer other digital assets, such as tokenized securities. With wpNEX, Germany is taking a major step towards becoming a leader in the adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based technologies.

#Germany #dwpbank #bitcoin #BTC #azcoinnews

This article was republished from azcoinnews.com

USDC is being touted as a solution to the cross-border payment hassle faced by mid-sized enterprises.

The EU adopting MiCA has motivated companies in the bloc to adopt crypto and digital assets.

If successful, cross-border usage of USDC would boost its supply in the market, which has fallen by over $16 billion since the beginning of the year.

USDC has had a rather difficult six months after losing its domination in the stablecoin space due to multiple reasons, including increasing regulator scrutiny and the March 2023 banking crisis. However, with the changing environment in the European Union regarding crypto acceptance, the Circle-issued stablecoin might have a shot at regaining its lost dominion of the crypto market.

USDC finds support in #Germany

In a change of fortunes, USDC has been announced as the token that will be used to test cross-border payments by the German software giant SAP. The reason behind using a stablecoin for conducting transactions with other countries, as described by the company, is to solve the challenges faced by businesses when sending money beyond their borders. 

Discussing the same, product expert at SAP, Sissi Ruthe, noted in her blog post,

“Today, cross-border payments are a hassle for many small and mid-sized enterprises with international business partners. These major challenges can get solved with Digital Money as a means of settlement and Blockchain as the underlying technology.”

The European Union is currently being touted as one of the most fertile areas for the crypto market to grow and thrive. The reason behind this is the MiCA regulation being successfully passed. Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) has bestowed confidence in many crypto and digital-asset enthusiasts in the country, enabling the tests.

Beyond the users, USD Coin (USDC) could itself significantly benefit if the trial is successful and the digital asset payment system is integrated into SAP’s systems. The stablecoin would not only find new users but also largely increase circulation in the crypto market. 

USDC, at one point towards the end of 2022, was nearly in competition with Tether (USDT), which had a circulating supply of 66.2 billion at the time. USDC’s dominance, on the other hand, was also at a high, with a circulating supply of over 42 billion tokens.

However, come 2023, the depegging of the asset and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank led to USDC losing its footing in the stablecoin space for a while resulting in a sharp decline in its circulation around March this year. 

At the time of writing, after consistent declines, #USDC ’s supply stands at 28.2 billion while #USDT , which picked up the supply USD Coin lost, rose to note a market capitalization of $83.5 billion.

With the SAP cross-border payment test, however, there is hope of USDC reclaiming its crown.