BaFin Rejects Bitcoin.de MiCA License, Halting Trading at Germany’s Oldest Crypto Exchange

Germany’s financial watchdog has denied a critical license for the subsidiary operating bitcoin.de, forcing the country’s longest-running cryptocurrency exchange to suspend trading indefinitely and scramble for a regulatory workaround.

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) refused futurum bank AG’s application to operate as a crypto-asset service provider under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), Bitcoin Group SE disclosed Monday. The decision effectively blocks the platform’s planned relaunch as a full-service brokerage offering more than 100 cryptocurrencies, staking, and swap functionality.

Trading on bitcoin.de has been largely frozen since June 12, when the platform switched off its legacy peer-to-peer matching engine in preparation for the MiCA-compliant overhaul. The company moved customer assets to new custody infrastructure during the transition, a process completed before the regulatory setback.

“Our priority now is to implement the alternative operating model and to keep our customers transparently informed about the next steps,” said Moritz Eckert, CEO of Bitcoin Group SE, the Frankfurt-listed parent company.

The rejection underscores BaFin’s rigorous approach to MiCA enforcement. Germany’s regulator has positioned itself as one of the strictest supervisors in the EU’s new crypto framework, which entered full force for service providers on December 30, 2024. Unlike some national authorities that granted transitional permissions, BaFin has insisted on full compliance before allowing operations to commence.

Bitcoin.de, launched in 2011, counts roughly 1.1 million registered users and was Germany’s dominant domestic exchange before the arrival of international competitors. Its peer-to-peer model — matching buyers and sellers directly — operated for years in a regulatory gray zone that MiCA was designed to eliminate.

The platform’s planned transformation mirrored broader industry shifts. Rivals including Bitpanda, Trade Republic, and Boerse Stuttgart Digital secured German MiCA licenses earlier this year, allowing them to offer custodial trading, staking, and structured products legally across the 27-member bloc.

Futurum bank retains the right to file an objection against BaFin’s decision or submit a new application. However, the administrative process could extend well into 2025. In the interim, Bitcoin Group SE said it is negotiating with regulated partners to restore trading access through a white-label or agency arrangement — a model that would let bitcoin.de operate as a front-end while a licensed entity handles custody and execution.

Customer funds remain segregated in the new custody infrastructure, the company emphasized. No assets were affected by the licensing decision itself, though users have been unable to trade, withdraw, or deposit since mid-June.

The case highlights a growing divide in European crypto markets: platforms that secured early MiCA authorization are capturing market share, while those caught in regulatory limbo face existential pressure. For bitcoin.de, a pioneer that once defined German crypto trading, the next few months will determine whether it can adapt to the regulated era or cede its user base to better-licensed competitors.

Bitcoin Group SE shares trade on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under ticker A1TNV9.