Danske Bank, the biggest bank in Denmark and a serious retail bank in Northern Europe with over five million customers, is allowing its customers to buy Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded products (ETPs) from BlackRock and WisdomTree for the primary time through its eBanking and mobile banking platforms.
The recent offering, announced on Wednesday, is open only to self-directed investors – customers who trade on the bank's platform without receiving investment advice – and is expressly designed in response to “increasing customer demand” and “enhanced regulation” under the European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regime.
The bank said customers can initially purchase three “fastidiously chosen” ETPs, two tracking Bitcoin (BTC) and one tracking Ether (ETH), offered by BlackRock and WisdomTree and covered by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID) investor protection and value transparency regulations, which the bank said offer clear benefits over holding coins directly, including ease of trade and secure custody.
Danske Bank turns around. Source: Danske Bank
Kerstin Lysholm, head of investment products and offerings at Danske Bank, said within the press release that as cryptocurrencies turn out to be more widespread as an asset class, the bank is “receiving an increasing number of inquiries from customers who would love to have the chance to take a position in cryptocurrencies as a part of their investment portfolio.”
She added that regulation has “increased confidence in cryptocurrencies generally” and the bank has concluded that “the time is correct” to make such products available to customers who accept the “very high risks” involved.
From platform bans to strictly controlled access
The shift comes after years of caution toward digital assets. In 2018, Danske Bank declared that it was hostile to cryptocurrencies and banned trading in them and related instruments by itself platforms. It warned clients against investing as a consequence of concerns about transparency, regulation, volatility and financial crime.
In 2021, Danske updated its policies in a four-point notice, stating that it might not itself provide cryptocurrency services to its customers, but additionally wouldn’t intervene in transactions from crypto platforms.
Lysholm said Danske still views cryptocurrencies as “opportunistic investments” reasonably than a part of a long-term portfolio strategy, and said access to ETPs “mustn’t be viewed as a advice of the asset class.”
The press release states that cryptocurrency investments “involve a really high level of risk” and may end up in large losses, and a suitability test is built into the method. Before trading, clients must answer inquiries to ensure they’ve sufficient experience and knowledge to know the risks and characteristics of crypto ETPs.
Wider European trend
Other European lenders are also pushing for 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 personal banking customers in Switzerland.
Deutsche Bank in Germany can also be reportedly preparing to launch a crypto custody service in 2026 in collaboration with Bitpanda and Swiss digital asset firm Taurus.
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