The New Landscape of Cryptocurrency in Europe: Why Germany Takes Center Stage?

Author: Zen, PANews

As the transitional arrangements for MiCA enter their final stages, the European cryptocurrency industry has undergone a significant institutional reshuffle. Once MiCA is fully implemented, platforms that previously relied on local registrations in member states, regulatory gaps, or transitional arrangements to serve European users will need to be reintegrated into the EU's unified framework and obtain authorization as Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP) to continue operating in compliance.

According to the Financial Times, as of July 1, only about 12% of cryptocurrency companies in the EU have been authorized to continue operating under the new regulations, with 244 authorized entities. More platforms that failed to complete the authorization process in time have had to cease their cryptocurrency services and exit the European compliance market.

On this new playing field, Germany stands out prominently. Currently, Germany has 57 MiCA-authorized crypto asset service providers, accounting for about 23% of the 244 authorizations in the EU, significantly ahead of other member states. Since MiCA allows licensed institutions to provide cross-border services within the EU, this means that Germany is not only one of the countries with the most authorizations but is also becoming an important compliance gateway for European crypto platforms entering the unified market.

Moreover, Germany is not just a "leading market in terms of the number of licenses"; it acts as a convergence point in the re-layering of European crypto finance, moving from regulatory entry points to banking distribution channels and participants in digital financial infrastructure.

Functional Regulation Facilitates Smooth Transition for MiCA

Before the EU's unified framework was established, Germany had already incorporated various aspects of cryptocurrency issuance, trading, brokerage, custody, and market order into different regulatory systems such as banking, securities, payments, and capital markets. It is precisely because of this functional regulatory foundation that when MiCA consolidates decentralized rules into a unified EU framework, Germany can quickly adopt the new regulations and extend its existing local compliance pathways to the European level.

Even before MiCA was officially implemented, Germany already had several cryptocurrency trading entry points aimed at retail users and institutional clients. These early platforms were not entirely outside the regulatory framework; rather, they were embedded within Germany's existing financial services system through licensed banks and agent structures.

For example, Bitcoin.de, an early local Bitcoin trading platform in Germany, operated under the name Bitcoin Deutschland AG, functioning as a "bound agent" of Fidor Bank to conduct related investment brokerage activities. This is a practice in German financial regulation where agents can be independent companies or individuals but can only represent a specific licensed financial institution for particular business activities. As a licensed bank in Germany, Fidor Bank assumes responsibility in this structure and bears the corresponding regulatory obligations.

In contrast to the "embedded" compliance pathways, the Stuttgart Stock Exchange Group, which operates the German stock exchange, chose to directly engage in the market, attempting to integrate cryptocurrency trading into its own exchange, brokerage, and custody systems. In 2019, the group launched a cryptocurrency trading app for retail users called BISON, providing a relatively simple entry point for buying and selling. In the same year, the group also launched Germany's first regulated digital asset trading platform, BSDEX, which employs an order book and fixed trading rules aimed at more professional investors.

In addition to local platforms, Germany's regulatory framework can also attract the participation of international platforms, with Coinbase's launch of Coinbase Germany being a typical example. In 2021, Coinbase Germany obtained licenses for crypto custody and trading from BaFin, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany, which is responsible for the regulation of banks, securities, insurance, and certain crypto financial services. Its licenses belong to the new crypto regulatory regime introduced in Germany in 2020, covering crypto custody and trading.

These cases collectively illustrate that before the implementation of MiCA, German regulatory authorities focused on dissecting and assessing the business of platforms. This involved multiple traditional German financial laws, including the German Banking Act, the German Securities Trading Act, and the payment services regulatory framework. BaFin's early documents on token classification also reflect this functional regulatory approach, indicating that whether a token constitutes a financial instrument, security, capital investment, or investment fund share needs to be judged on a case-by-case basis according to its specific structure and economic function.

Therefore, while Germany's regulatory foundation may not be completely mature and perfect, it has already "trained" a number of institutions in customer due diligence, organizational governance, risk control, and regulatory reporting by integrating key operations of crypto platforms into the traditional financial legal system. It may not be the most lenient regulatory market, but it benefits from clearer regulatory pathways, more complete financial infrastructure, and more predictable regulatory experience. For new platforms looking to enter the European market, Germany's appeal lies in these aspects.

Banks as Direct Entry Points for Crypto Services in Germany

In the global crypto market, traditional banking systems in many countries often maintain a distance from the crypto industry, sometimes even in opposition. However, in the development of the crypto market in Germany, banks are not only participants in the compliance chain but have also become entry points for users to access crypto assets.

Initially, Fidor Bank participated in the compliance structure of local platforms through cooperation with Bitcoin.de; subsequently, as the regulatory framework became clearer, traditional financial institutions such as Commerzbank and DekaBank began to expand their layouts in crypto custody, trading, and institutional services.

It can be said that the trend of banks moving from behind the scenes to the forefront has already formed. The implementation of MiCA has further accelerated this shift, allowing crypto services to enter the retail channels of banks more quickly, becoming new entry points accessible to ordinary users.

The most direct example is DZ Bank, the central cooperative bank of Germany, which is the core bank in the German cooperative financial system and the second-largest bank in Germany by asset size. In January 2026, DZ Bank announced that it had obtained MiCAR authorization from BaFin to launch its crypto asset service "meinKrypto".

This product is designed as a wallet and trading entry integrated into the VR Banking App, aimed at self-directed customers rather than being part of private banking investment advice. Once the cooperative bank completes its MiCAR notification and launches the relevant functions, customers will be able to invest in crypto assets through the familiar banking app.

Another pathway comes from the German savings bank system, Sparkassen. Sparkassen is a financial network composed of public savings banks across Germany, covering a large number of local bank branches and individual customers. As an important securities service and asset management institution within this system, DekaBank is often referred to as the "securities company" or capital market service platform of the savings bank system.

According to public plans, the German savings bank system will provide private customers with trading services for crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum through the DekaBank platform in its mobile banking app, with a target launch in the summer of 2026.

The significance of these changes lies in the transformation of how crypto services are distributed. For ordinary users, crypto assets are no longer just high-risk products on external trading platforms but are integrated into bank apps, customer accounts, and existing compliance processes.

From Trading Centers to European Digital Asset Infrastructure Hubs

If the trading platform licenses address the question of "who can legally provide crypto services," and bank apps address "where ordinary users can access crypto assets," then a deeper question arises: who will issue, custody, and settle future on-chain assets, and what payment and settlement tools will be used to enter the capital market system? Germany's crypto layout is extending from trading and retail entry points to this kind of underlying financial infrastructure.

Deutsche Börse Group is the core exchange and market infrastructure group in Germany, covering trading, clearing, data indices, investment management solutions, and post-trade services. Its subsidiary Clearstream is responsible for post-trade operations, primarily handling settlement, custody, and asset services after securities transactions, ensuring that trades are genuinely completed and assets are continuously managed.

In June 2026, Clearstream announced the launch of next-generation digital securities infrastructure, with plans to roll it out in phases from 2026 to 2027. According to its announcement, the platform will cover issuance, distribution, settlement, custody, asset services, liquidity, and financing throughout the securities lifecycle, serving both traditional and tokenized securities and assets under the MiFID and MiCA frameworks. Clearstream also stated that the platform will support institutional clients in accessing blockchain technology, crypto assets, stablecoins, and security tokens, and explore scenarios such as on-chain settlement, large-scale tokenization of securities, and collateral reuse of the same asset in multiple transactions.

For market infrastructure institutions like Deutsche Börse and Clearstream, tokenized securities, stablecoins, and crypto assets are being incorporated into a broader upgrade of capital market infrastructure. If these infrastructures gain regulatory approval and are widely adopted by institutional clients, German institutions will occupy a more advantageous position in the European digital asset market.

Additionally, the euro stablecoin is also part of this overarching theme. The euro stablecoin project Qivalis, supported by European banks and headquartered in Amsterdam, aims to address the dominance of American companies in digital payments and prepare for future asset tokenization. Founding members of Qivalis include DekaBank, DZ BANK, ING, BNP Paribas, BBVA, and UniCredit, with plans to launch a regulated euro stablecoin in the second half of 2026 after obtaining regulatory approval.

For Germany, the significance of this project lies not in Germany solely leading the euro stablecoin but in the fact that the German banking system has entered into a collaborative construction of European digital payment and tokenized financial infrastructure. DekaBank connects the German savings bank system, while DZ Bank connects the cooperative banking system, and their participation in Qivalis indicates that Germany's crypto layout has extended to euro stablecoins, on-chain payments, and future tokenized asset settlements within deeper financial infrastructures.

In the future, competition in the European crypto industry will increasingly focus on licenses, banking cooperation, custody, settlement, tax transparency, and cross-border service capabilities, and Germany happens to be at the intersection of these capabilities.