Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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ING Deutschland now offers retail clients exchange-traded notes and products tied to bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
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ING added that crypto ETPs carry significant risks and stated that crypto has no intrinsic value.
ING Now Offers Retail Access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana ETPs
ING Deutschland, a major retail bank in Germany, now offers retail access to cryptocurrency-linked exchange-traded notes (ETNs) and products. This latest development enables customers to gain exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
While announcing it on its official website, ING stated that the ETPs are physically backed instruments issued by established providers such as 21Shares, Bitwise, and VanEck.
The products track the performance of individual cryptocurrencies and are traded on regulated exchanges through ING's Direct Depot platform.
ING added that the products are designed to lower the entry barrier for crypto investing by using familiar banking infrastructure, removing the need for customers to manage third-party wallet systems or private keys.
While commenting on the launch, Martijn Rozemuller, CEO of VanEck Europe, stated that,
"This creates another particularly low-threshold access to crypto investments via exchange-traded products. Many investors want a solution that fits into existing depot structures and at the same time convinces them with transparent costs. That's exactly what this partnership stands for — it brings crypto exposure to where investors are already investing: in their securities depot."
However, ING added that investments in these products are subject to tax treatment similar to direct crypto holdings in Germany, including potential capital gains exemptions for positions held longer than one year.
The bank also cautioned customers that the products carry significant risks, citing "extreme" price volatility, the possibility of total loss in the event of issuer insolvency, liquidity challenges, market manipulation, and regulatory uncertainty.
Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies have underperformed since the start of the year, with BTC briefly dropping below the $75k level earlier this week.
