Priya PatelTLDR:
– Crypto Finance, owned by Deutsche Börse, has received four licenses from BaFin, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.
– The licenses will allow Crypto Finance to engage in regulated digital asset trading, settlement, and custody services for institutions in Germany.
Crypto Finance (Deutschland), a subsidiary of Crypto Finance, has obtained four licenses from BaFin, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority. The licenses will enable the company to offer regulated digital asset trading, settlement, and custody services for institutional clients in Germany. Crypto Finance is already regulated by FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority. The licenses come as Deutsche Börse, the parent company of Crypto Finance, prepares to launch a digital exchange. The new exchange, called DBDX, is expected to launch later this year and will target institutional users.
The acquisition of Crypto Finance by Deutsche Börse in 2021 positions Crypto Finance well to play a role in the new exchange’s ecosystem. The company already offers products on the SIX exchange in Switzerland and has launched the first Swiss crypto asset investment fund. The BaFin licenses also position Crypto Finance within the regulatory framework of Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), which will begin to come into force in 2024. Deutsche Börse is also the owner of the Frankfurt Exchange, which operates the Deutsche Börse Xetra digital exchange. BaFin has rejected a crypto custody license application from Binance but approved Deutsche Bank and Boerse Stuttgart Digital blocknox for the same function.
