Boerse Stuttgart’s Blocknox Set to Launch Crypto Custodial Platform for Enterprises

Boerse Stuttgart, Germany’s second-largest stock exchange, has announced that its subsidiary, blocknox, is putting preparations in top gear to launch a crypto custodial platform that will cater to the needs of institutional clients such as banks, fintech firms and others, according to a Ledger Insights report on February 18, 2020.

Blocknox to Unveil Crypto Custody for Firms

Building upon the success of its existing crypto custodial service which was created in January 2019 to cater to the needs of users of its BISON digital assets trading app, as well as the Boerse Stuttgart Digital Exchange (BSDEX), blocknox, a subsidiary of the 160-year-old stock exchange is rolling out a crypto custody for institutional investors.

At a time when observers have cited the lack of widespread and robust crypto custodial platforms as one of the major factors hindering institutional investors from joining the bitcoin (BTC) movement, blocknox is determined to solve this challenge to some extent, by building a platform that will serve some of these enterprises, including banks and fintech firms.

Commenting on blocknox’s crypto custody ambition, Dr. Ulli Spankowski, Managing Director of blocknox GmbH, reiterated that the platform will make life easier for institutional big whales.

In his words:

“As a pioneer in Germany, blocknox has already been operating as a crypto custodian for more than a year. Now we want to give institutional investors a chance to benefit from our experience and set-up as well. They can use our reliable custody as a building block for their own bitcoin-linked services.”

A Forward-Thinking Move

As reported by BTCManager earlier in November 2019, a new bill on the Fourth Money Laundering Directive was drafted by the European Union authorities. This bill, which aims to give financial institutions the authority to store bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins for clients, was implemented in Germany on January 1, 2020.

While the new legislation makes it mandatory for banks and other financial institutions interested in offering crypto storage services to first obtain the necessary licenses prior to launching their platforms, non-bank crypto custodians like blocknox follow an entirely different route.

Talking about the latest cryptocurrency custody regulation, Dr. Spankowski described it as a welcomed development that will legitimize the cryptospace and further attract more institutional players to the industry.