Financial Regulatory News
Financial Regulatory News

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Crypto Regulation

Crypto funds in Germany – What depositaries and asset management companies (probably) will need to consider

by on Mar 28, 2025
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The entry into force of the Future Financing Act (Zukunftsfinanzierungsgesetz) already marked the birth of “crypto funds” in Germany in 2023 by enabling direct investment in crypto-assets for mutual funds (within the meaning of Sections 221 and 261 KAGB). With the Financial Market Digitisation Act (Finanzmarktdigitalisierungsgesetz), which entered into force at the end of 2024, this idea has now been completed considering the background of MiCAR with a reference to its concept of crypto-assets.

Since an investment in crypto-assets is associated with new, specific risks, BaFin has put the first draft of a circular on the Obligations of depositaries and [...]

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MiCAR in Practice: BaFin Issues Guidance on Crypto Services

by and on Jan 10, 2025
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At the beginning of the year, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (“BaFin“) released a guidance document on crypto-asset services under the new EU Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (“MiCAR“). This regulation has been directly applicable to crypto service providers in the EU since December 30, 2024.

The guidance provides clarifications on the licensing requirements for crypto services and the obligations for providers. Key points include:

  • Definitions of Crypto Services: BaFin specifies which crypto services are subject to licensing and connects these to the well-established investment services under MiFID II.
  • Licensing of Crypto-Asset Service Providers: The guidance includes [...]

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ZuFinG II – The Next Step Towards Strengthening Germany as a Financial Hub?

by on Oct 10, 2024
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Following the initial steps with the Future Financing Act (“ZuFinG I“), the Federal Ministry of Finance presented the draft of the Second Future Financing Act (“ZuFinG II-E” and “Draft Bill“) on 27 August 2024. The Draft Bill aims to further develop the German financial market and revise some of the existing regulations. The primary focus is on facilitating access to the capital markets and relieving financial actors from excessive bureaucracy.

New Regulations for Payment Service Providers Regarding Customer Funds

Payment service providers are required to safeguard customer funds they receive according to the methods outlined in the German Payment Services Supervision [...]

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Dubai and Abu Dhabi Firms Involved in Crypto: Regulatory Pitfalls to Avoid When Dealing with EU or UK Clients

by on Sep 26, 2024
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Co-Authors: Vlad Maly | Michal Chajdukowski

Continuing developments in the crypto regulatory sphere have significantly increased the attractiveness of Dubai and Abu Dhabi for crypto firms with global ambitions. Firms should remember, however, that they may also need to comply with the EU or UK crypto regulatory regimes, especially when engaging with clients or investors from these jurisdictions.

In this article, we summarise recent crypto developments in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), and discuss the pitfalls crypto firms should avoid when dealing with EU or UK clients.

Recent [...]

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From payment service providers to professional football clubs: New EU regulations to combat money laundering adopted

by on Apr 30, 2024
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On April 24, 2024, the European Parliament adopted a new anti-money laundering legislative package to strengthen the EU’s tools to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

The package includes

• the sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (“AMLD6”) as well as
• the EU Regulation on a Single Rulebook and
• a new central supervisory authority.

Extended access to beneficial ownership data

A key aspect of the new legislation is to ensure that persons with a legitimate interest – including journalists, civil society organizations, supervisory authorities and other relevant stakeholders – have direct and unhindered access to beneficial ownership [...]

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Update for crypto asset service providers: Draft bill to transfer German crypto regulation to the EU MiCAR regime

by on Apr 24, 2024
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On April 5, 2024, the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) published a draft bill for two regulations intended to facilitate the transition of national crypto regulation into the EU MiCAR regime.
These proposed regulations specify the simplified authorization procedure and create the possibility of submitting applications before the MiCAR regulations become fully applicable.

In brief: Simplified authorization procedure for already regulated institutions

At the end of 2023, the German legislator presented the draft Financial Market Digitization Act (“FinmadiG“), which, among other things, provides for a separate Crypto Markets Supervision Act (“KMAG“) (we [...]

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Bitcoin Halving Is Just Around the Corner

by on Apr 18, 2024
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After the approval of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, another fundamental event for the crypto industry is on the horizon: the expected bitcoin halving in mid-April 2024.

The approval of so-called bitcoin spot ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in early January 2024 led to significant cash inflows into the crypto market, specifically targeting the market for bitcoin spot ETFs. Between March 4 and March 13, 2024, approximately US$3.8 billion was invested into the newly approved bitcoin ETFs, resulting in bitcoin reaching a new record high of around US$ 73,750.

Now, the industry eagerly [...]

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Are You Ready for MiCAR? – Webinar on the Introduction to the new EU Crypto Regulation

by and on Feb 9, 2024
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We had the pleasure to host our webinar on the new regulation of crypto-assets in the EU (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR)), with a focus on the scope of MiCAR, licensing requirements and procedures, and obligations for crypto-asset service providers in the EU. Our experts, specializing in Financial Regulatory Law with a focus on the current crypto regulation, engaged in discussions regarding the upcoming changes due to MiCAR in 2024.

The seminar was targeted at all those who were (or aspired to be) involved in the crypto scene or provided services in this domain, seeking insights into compliance with the [...]

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FinmadiG and KMAG – Implementation of European crypto-financial market regulation in Germany

by on Jan 29, 2024
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The German legislator has responded to the harmonization of European financial market regulations: In October 2023, the Federal Ministry of Finance published the draft bill for the Act on the Digitization of the Financial Market (Finanzmarktdigitalisierungsgesetz – “FinmadiG“), followed by the publication of the government draft of the FinmadiG just one month later.

MiCAR, DORA and money transfers – what does the FinmadiG implement?

The FinmadiG is intended to implement the following EU regulations on digital financial market regulation:

  • Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (“MiCAR”): The first EU-wide uniform set of rules for markets in crypto assets (we provided information here, for [...]

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SEC approval for crypto ETF

by on Jan 11, 2024
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Yesterday, on January 10, 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) made the long-awaited decision by the crypto scene to allow the listing and distribution of exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that track the price of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, so-called Bitcoin spot ETFs. Specifically, 11 of these Bitcoin spot ETFs were approved by SEC, including those from major market players such as BlackRock, Ark Investments and Fidelity. The approval decision was preceded by a false report shortly before the SEC decision, which once again led to considerable market distortions. The approval took a year-long coordination process between the parties involved and [...]

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