Denmark’s Danske Bank allows clients to buy Bitcoin and Ether ETPs
Danske Bank said it is opening access to Bitcoin and Ether ETPs for self-directed clients after years of caution on crypto, citing rising customer demand and clearer EU rules.
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 Ether (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.