BaFin, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, has granted four licenses to the German subsidiary of Crypto Finance. As its parent company, Deutsche Börse prepares to establish a digital exchange.
Crypto Finance (Deutschland) is a provider of investment products, custody, and trading in digital assets that meet the standards of institutions. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, has jurisdiction over it.
An announcement states that the German licenses will enable the company to provide regulated digital asset trading, settlement, and custody services to institutions in Germany.
In 2021, Deutsche Börse completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Crypto Finance Group, a Swiss company. Already present on the SIX exchange in Switzerland, where it debuted the inaugural Swiss crypto asset investment fund, Crypto Finance provides its products.
Deutsche Börse declared its intention to establish a cryptocurrency exchange catering to institutional users in November. Launching this year, the new exchange is reportedly named DBDX. Regarding the BaFin approvals, Crypto Finance Group CCEO Stijn Vander Straeten stated:
“This demonstrates our commitment to transparency and security but also positions us as a trusted entity in the market, contributing to the development of a reliable ecosystem for crypto assets.”
Therefore, the ecosystem of that new exchange is amenable to Crypto Finance’s participation. Clearstream, a subsidiary of Deutsche Borse, established the digital asset securities registry D7, which is also anticipated to play a significant role in the new exchange.
Crypto Finance has also positioned itself within the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework, of which portions will go into effect in 2024 by obtaining BaFin licensing.
The Frankfurt Exchange, under the ownership of Deutsche Börse, is the operator of the Deutsche Börse Xetra digital exchange.
BaFin denied Binance’s application for a cryptocurrency custody license in June 2023, a brief time after granting Deutsche Bank approval for the identical purpose.
It granted Boerse Stuttgart Digital Blocknox custody approval in March. Boerse Stuttgart is a competitor of Deutsche Borse. In November, it also authorized BitGo, based in the United States, for cryptocurrency custody.
