CAPTION: German savings banks to consider cryptocurrency pilot project. (picture alliance / dpa)
Germany's savings banks are examining whether to offer their customers the chance to trade in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether in future.
A team at the IT service provider S-Payment is developing a concept for a cryptocurrency service, the German Savings Banks Association (DSGV) confirmed on Monday after reports first appeared in the trade press.
"The interest in crypto-assets is enormous ... a project is therefore examining the possibilities and risks offered by a wallet in which customers of savings banks can securely store crypto-assets," a spokesperson said.
The project team is preparing to present its results to the banks in the first half of 2022. According to media reports, a decision could be taken to move forward, or not, in the first quarter of next year.
The idea is reportedly to enable savings bank customers to buy cryptocurrencies via their current accounts.
Ultimately, each of the 370 savings banks would decide independently whether or not to introduce crypto-trading.
The advantages and drawbacks of cryptocurrencies are heavily contested.
The currencies have no notes or coins, only encrypted blocks of data stored on computers. Central bankers do not consider such crypto-tokens to be a real currency and warn of risks resulting from speculative bubbles. In their view, problems arise from the absence of control by a central bank or a state.
This lack of state control is seen as a key advantage by others.
The prices of the currencies fluctuate strongly. The price of the world's best-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, more than doubled this year to a record high of over 67,000 dollars, then dropped to 42,000 dollars.
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