German bank VPE has partnered with Berlin-based fintech company ‎solarisBank to facilitate cryptocurrency trading for institutional ‎investors, like hedge and pension funds.‎

The Securities trading provider is regulated by Germany’s financial ‎watchdog, BaFin, and will become the first to offer such services in the ‎country.‎

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VPE said the ecosystem wasn’t prepared to handle large traders a ‎couple years ago, and their customers weren’t asking for such digital assets. ‎That all changed in 2017 when the crypto-market went mainstream as an ‎asset class.‎

Unlike established financial markets, cryptocurrency trading is dominated by ‎individual investors, which is evident by almost every metric, including the sharp price swings.‎

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Institutional investors and trading firms were eager to actively trade ‎these instruments following the launch of bitcoin futures contracts ‎by two of the leading futures exchanges in the US.‎ Even though the Cboe and CME futures have allowed digital currencies to ‎step into the mainstream financial system, the big players were‎ challenged by lack of institutional-grade technology to ‎support them.‎

The statement also revealed that solarisBank will offer a custodian ‎service while customers will also receive access to an individual cryptocurrency ‎wallet hosted by VPE. This will deliver stringent financial controls as well ‎as secure storage, the company said.‎

‎ Commenting on this, Katharina Strenski, Public Relations ‎Manager at VPE, said: ‎”Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and others have ‎become a promising asset class in recent years. To date, trading digital ‎tokens has been restricted to crypto exchanges and online market places. ‎We are pleased to be the first German bank to offer our customers ‎cryptocurrency trading services.”

‎”Until now, institutional investors have faced high entry barriers to crypto ‎trading. Our cryptocurrency trading services offer a much more convenient ‎alternative,” Strenski added.‎