The bank, Denmark's largest, says that it’s rolling out these options in response to growing customer demand, and that it’s targeting customers who use its trading platform without receiving advice on investments.
“As cryptocurrencies have become a more common asset class, we are receiving an increasing number of enquiries from customers wanting the option of investing in cryptocurrencies as part of their investment portfolio,” said Kerstin Lysholm, Head of Investment Products & Offering at Danske Bank.
She said that “on balance,” the bank had concluded that, “the time is ripe for making cryptocurrency investment products available to the customers who want to invest in the asset class and who accept the very high risks involved in cryptocurrency-related investments.”
However, while Danske is offering customers the opportunity to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs, it’s also making clear that it still doesn’t endorse cryptocurrencies as an investment option.
Indeed, it ends its press release by declaring that it doesn’t offer advisory services for cryptocurrencies since it regards them as “opportunistic investments” rather than something for long-term investors.
The final sentence reads, “Kerstin Lysholm therefore also emphasises that access to selected cryptocurrency ETPs on Danske Bank’s trading platform should not be seen as a recommendation of the asset class from Danske Bank.”
Danske Bank and cryptoDespite these words of caution, Lysholm herself affirms that there have been significant advancements in the regulation of the cryptocurrency sector.
She told Decrypt that this “has created a more mature market with enhanced investor protection, transparency, and market integrity,” and that such developments have enabled the bank to offer “selected and regulated investment products that provide customers with a more convenient and regulated way to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies.”
Lysholm also told Decrypt that Danske regards cryptocurrencies as a “natural step” in its ongoing efforts to cater to different kinds of investors in an evolving market and economy.
“We are not moving away from our previous cautious approach but are now offering regulated products that make it possible to invest in cryptocurrencies in a safer and more transparent manner,” she added.
Lysholm noted that Danske offers products only to customers who have passed an “appropriateness test,” which ensures that they understand attendant risks.
She explained, “It is ultimately the customers' own choice to invest, and we make it clear that these are opportunistic investments with high volatility.”
