Danske Bank Offers Bitcoin, Ethereum ETPs to Investors, Ending Eight-Year Crypto ‘Ban’

Danish lender Danske Bank is offering its customers the opportunity to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded products, but is refusing to recommend cryptocurrencies as an asset class.

According to a press release, users of its Danske eBanking and Danske Mobile Banking services will be able to gain exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum via corresponding ETPs, without having to hold the cryptocurrencies themselves.

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.

Danske Bank had previously taken an unaccommodating stance towards crypto, having flatly refused in 2018 to offer or support any kind of cryptocurrency trading through its platforms. In a 2018 report, the bank noted that, “Overall, we are negative towards cryptocurrencies and we strongly recommend that our customers avoid investing in cryptocurrencies,” renewing its internal ban on crypto in 2021.

Lysholm noted that the cryptocurrency market has become “better regulated” in the past few years, particularly as a result of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which she holds has increased confidence in digital assets.

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 crypto

Despite 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.”

According to data collected by Triple-A, there were 70,605 cryptocurrency owners in Denmark as of 2024, representing around 1.2% of the total population.

Meanwhile, Chainalysis’ Geography of Crypto 2025 report ranked Denmark 84th out of 151 countries for cryptocurrency adoption, which the intelligence firm measured in terms of on-chain value received by centralized and decentralized platforms.