Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark and a major retail bank in Northern Europe with over five million customers, is allowing clients to buy Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded products (ETPs) from BlackRock and WisdomTree via its eBanking and Mobile Banking platforms for the first time.
The new offering, announced Wednesday, is open to self-directed investors only — customers who trade on the bank’s platform without receiving investment advice — and is explicitly framed as a response to “increasing customer demand” and “improved regulation” in the wake of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regime.
The bank said customers can initially buy three “carefully selected” ETPs, two tracking Bitcoin (BTC) and one tracking Ethereum (ETH), offered by BlackRock and WisdomTree and covered by Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID) rules on investor protection and cost transparency, which the bank says provide clear advantages over holding coins directly, including ease of trading and secure custody.
Kerstin Lysholm, head of investment products and offerings at Danske Bank, said in the release that, as cryptocurrencies have become more common as an asset class, the bank was receiving an “increasing number of enquiries from customers wanting the option of investing in cryptocurrencies as part of their investment portfolio.”
She added that regulation had “generally increased confidence in cryptocurrencies” and led the bank to conclude “the time is ripe” to make such products available to clients who accept the “very high risks” involved.
Related: UBS weighing crypto trading for private banking clients: Report
From platform ban to tightly controlled access
The shift comes after years of caution toward digital assets. In 2018, Danske Bank said it was negative toward cryptocurrencies and barred trading in them and related instruments on its own platforms, warning customers against investing due to transparency, regulatory, volatility and financial crime concerns.
In 2021, Danske updated its policy in a four-point notice, stating that it wouldn’t offer any cryptocurrency services to its customers itself, but that it would not interfere with transactions coming from crypto platforms.
Lysholm said Danske still viewed crypto as “opportunistic investments” rather than part of a long-term portfolio strategy, and said that access to ETPs “should not be seen as a recommendation of the asset class.”
The release states that cryptocurrency investments “involve a very high risk” and can result in large losses, and it is building a suitability check into the flow. Before trading, customers must answer questions to ensure they have sufficient experience and knowledge to understand the risks and characteristics of crypto ETPs.
Broader European trend
Other European lenders are also edging into regulated crypto offerings.
BBVA, Spain’s second-largest bank, launched Bitcoin and Ether trading and custody for all retail customers in Spain in 2025, after piloting similar services for private banking clients in Switzerland.
Germany’s Deutsche Bank is also reportedly preparing to roll out a crypto custody service in 2026 in collaboration with Bitpanda and Swiss digital asset firm Taurus.
Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026
Be the first to comment