German VR Banks quietly introduce Bitcoin trading via mobile app
Bavaria's VR Banks to Offer Cryptocurrency Trading via App
Customers of Germany's VR Banks will soon be able to invest in cryptocurrencies through the institution's mobile app, as digital assets become a standard part of their financial services.
Munich – Bavaria's cooperative Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken are cautiously entering the speculative world of cryptocurrency trading. The Genossenschaftsverband Bayern (GVB), the regional association of cooperative banks, announced that a new feature called meinKrypto will soon be available in the VR Banks' app, allowing customers to buy and sell digital currencies. However, participating banks will not actively promote the service, instead processing orders only from "self-directed" clients who initiate transactions on their own. "We are not pushing to expand our operational business in cryptocurrencies," said Alexander Leißl, the GVB's audit board chairman.
Bavaria is home to 175 Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken, which play a vital role in supporting local economies, particularly in rural areas. According to the GVB, only one cooperative bank in the region—Bayern Mitte in Ingolstadt—currently offers Bitcoin wallets. "The key point for us is that cryptocurrency is now part of our comprehensive banking services," Leißl emphasized.
The prolonged economic crisis has had little impact on Bavaria's cooperative banks so far. Last year, their pre-tax profit reached just over €1.8 billion, slightly higher than the previous year, while total assets grew by 2.9% to €216.4 billion.
Even a potential deepening of the crisis at Baywa—a company closely linked, directly or indirectly, to many of Bavaria's cooperative banks—would not destabilize the VR Banks, according to GVB President Stefan Müller. "Even if conditions at Baywa were to become more challenging, that alone would not push a Bavarian Volksbank or Raiffeisenbank into distress," Müller stated.
