Register management for electronic securities

We maintain the electronic securities register in accordance with the German Electronic Securities Act (eWpG) and document all ownership relationships digitally, transparently, and in a legally compliant manner on a public blockchain. Our register maintenance meets all regulatory requirements and maintains the necessary technical and organizational infrastructure.

We handle all payment-related events – from interest and dividend distributions to repayments at maturity. Our processes are linked to blockchain register management and enable reliable, frictionless payment flows.

As a depositary bank, we ensure compliance with legal requirements and protect the interests of investors. Our depositary function provides additional governance and control, particularly for tokenized fund shares.

As a securities custodian, we manage the holdings of our institutional clients and provide access to tokenized financial instruments. This enables investors to hold digital securities via existing banking infrastructure – simply, securely, and transparently.

Our wholly-owned subsidiary HADC (Hauck Aufhäuser Digital Custody GmbH) ensures the security of private keys and tokenized assets in accordance with Section 1 (1a) sentence 2 no. 6 of the KWG (German Banking Act) through both collective custody and, if necessary, individual registration. We provide you with audited and regulated custody solutions without the risks of a self-custody model.

Our one-stop-shop approach means that institutional issuers and investors receive all services related to the issuance, administration, and settlement of digital securities from a single source. In addition to register maintenance, we also offer depositary services, paying agent services, securities account management, and crypto custody. Our clients benefit from smooth processes, a high degree of automation, and centralized regulatory oversight without interface risks.

As a fully licensed financial services provider and established banking house, we take charge of essential regulatory tasks in connection with the issuance and administration of electronic securities. These include, in particular, maintaining the crypto securities register in accordance with the German Electronic Securities Act (eWpG), custody of crypto securities in collective custody in line with the German Banking Act (KWG), settlement of payment-related events via our paying agent function, statutory reporting, and technical and regulatory connectivity to the relevant systems. In this way, we ensure that our clients can fully comply with regulatory requirements without the need to develop their own infrastructure or acquire in-depth specialist knowledge.

We guarantee a change of registrar in accordance with the German Electronic Securities Act (eWpG). The new registrar must have a valid license pursuant to Section 1 (1a) sentence 2 no. 8 of the German Banking Act (KWG) and be able to guarantee the assumption of technical and regulatory obligations. In practice, this requires a legally compliant and complete transfer of the register and ownership. We are happy to support you in making this process efficient and legally compliant.

Investors are not listed in the crypto securities register under their real names, but under a pseudonymized identifier, such as a public key. The link to the investor's identity is established in a separate, secure system that is managed exclusively by the register administrator. This ensures data protection integrity while also meeting regulatory requirements for transparency and traceability.

In order to participate in the crypto securities register as an investor, you must successfully complete the KYC process. In addition, the conditions for participation in accordance with the Regulation on Requirements for Electronic Securities Registers (eWpRV) must be met (see section “Legal information”). Once these steps have been completed, entry in the register takes place automatically as part of the subscription or purchase of an electronic security. Separate registration in the register is not required.

Currently, the German Electronic Securities Act (eWpG) allows the digital issuance of bearer bonds, investment fund shares, and registered shares. With us, you can have tokenized bonds and fund shares issued and managed entirely digitally. For both instruments, we offer register maintenance as well as additional services such as custody, paying agent, and reporting—as a complete service package upon request. 

Tokenized issuance offers a number of advantages over the traditional securities process. The elimination of paper certificates and central intermediaries significantly speeds up settlement, which can be reduced to T+0 or T+1. Transaction costs are reduced, processes can be made more efficient through smart contracts, and digital distribution channels open up new investor groups. At the same time, the legal structure remains completely intact and is secured by HAL's regulatory framework. The result: a flexible, efficient, and future-oriented issuance solution.

We have comprehensive emergency and recovery management that is also designed for digital securities infrastructures. All register entries and transaction data are stored in an audit-proof manner and backed up in real time.