Deutsche Bank is weeks away from launching an institutional crypto custody platform in Germany, Corporate Bank Co-Head Gerald Podobnik said on October 16, 2026. BaFin granted authorization under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework on October 12, according to an interim register maintained by the European Securities and Markets Authority. The bank has not said that the service is live. The offering is limited to corporate and institutional clients and will initially support Bitcoin, Ether, Circle’s USDC and EURC stablecoins, and AllUnity’s EURAU stablecoin. Deutsche Bank will manage clients’ private keys and crypto wallets, while assets held through the service will not have statutory deposit-guarantee protection comparable to bank deposits. The bank applied for a German crypto custody license in 2023 and entered a partnership with digital-asset infrastructure provider Taurus that year. It plans to expand the service into Asian financial centers in 2027 as part of its broader corporate-bank growth strategy.

Stripe announced on October 15, 2026, that it was adding multi-currency capabilities to its stablecoin card infrastructure, with Plasma as a primary design partner. The expansion supports spending in US dollars, euros, Brazilian reais, Mexican pesos and Colombian pesos. It also supports Open USD and payment stablecoins meeting the regulatory criteria of the US GENIUS Act. The change is intended to let cardholders use non-dollar balances, including euros, for local-currency transactions without first converting them into US dollars. Stripe’s card infrastructure is powered substantially by Bridge, which it acquired in 2024. Stripe and Plasma are developing automated routing that would select a fiat or stablecoin balance at the point of sale, but that feature remains in development. The companies aim to extend the infrastructure from more than 30 countries currently supported to more than 100 by 2027. Those expansion and routing targets are plans, not capabilities available today.

StraitsX and Visa are expanding their stablecoin-backed card issuing partnership to more than 100 markets. The framework is designed for fintechs, digital wallet providers and Digital Payment Token service providers that want cardholders to spend from stablecoin balances. Merchants would receive payments through traditional card rails, without needing to accept cryptocurrency. Eligible programs will have access to Visa’s network of more than 175 million merchant locations. StraitsX recorded more than US$6 billion in annualized card gross transaction value across its Asian stablecoin-backed card programs before the planned expansion. The framework includes transaction monitoring and screening tools aimed at anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism risks. No market-by-market launch schedule or launch clients have been announced. Live deployments will depend on regulatory approvals in each jurisdiction and Visa network certification, so the partnership’s geographic scope should not be read as immediate card availability in every market.