Germany is studying a bill to allow the country's banks to store bitcoins, local publication Handelsblatt has reported.
Particularly, the bill proposes the creation of a new legislation so that regulated financial institutions can sell and store crypto assets.
Under the current law, legal entities offering banking services cannot offer this possibility.
The draft law has already been approved by the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and now awaits the consensus of all 16 states. If the states approve the proposal, the country's citizens will be able to store bitcoin, ethereum and other digital currencies directly in their banks.
The German crypto community has welcomed the decision as it would be an important step towards the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies.
German legislators have proposed this bill as part of its efforts to comply with the requirements of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
If the proposal is approved, the country's banks will be able to offer crypto-related services in 2020.
iHodl reported in September that Angela Merkel's government had just passed a law aimed at preventing private currencies like Libra from becoming an alternative to national currencies.
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