ING Deutschland Opens Retail Crypto Trading via ‘Direct Depot’ as BTC Hovers at $78k

Germany’s largest direct bank, ING Deutschland, has integrated crypto trading directly into its retail securities accounts, allowing millions of customers to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana without managing private keys. The move, effective immediately, enables users to trade physically backed ETPs from issuers like 21Shares, Bitwise, and VanEck through the bank’s existing "Direct Depot" interface.

The Tax Alpha: "Delivery Claim"

The structure of these products is not a minor technicality; it is the primary value proposition for German investors. Unlike synthetic derivatives, the integrated ETPs are physically backed and structured to grant investors a claim to the underlying assets (Lieferanspruch). Under German tax law, this classification treats the investment similarly to holding spot crypto: gains are tax-free if held for more than one year, bypassing the standard 25% capital gains tax applied to stocks and traditional ETFs.

This creates a regulated bridge for retail capital that demands the tax benefits of self-custody with the UX of a savings account.

Institutional Infrastructure During a Drawdown

The launch arrives as Bitcoin trades around $78,300, roughly 38% below its October 2025 all-time high of ~$126,000. While retail volume has cooled across native exchanges, traditional finance (TradFi) institutions are using the correction to deploy infrastructure. ING’s entry follows a precedent set by Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, signaling that German banking compliance, bolstered by the fully implemented MiCA framework, has become comfortable with digital asset risk.

Customers can access the new asset class immediately via the ING mobile app, with orders routed to regulated exchanges like Xetra. The integration effectively removes the "wallet anxiety" barrier for the bank’s conservative retail base while preserving the critical fiscal advantages of the asset class.