Crypto-asset service provider licence (Zulassung als Anbieter von Kryptowerte-Dienstleistungen nach Art. 59 MiCAR / KMAG) (Germany)

At a glance

What it lets you do

• Custody and administration of crypto-assets
• Operating a crypto-asset trading platform
• Exchange of crypto-assets for funds
• Exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets
• Execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
• Placing of crypto-assets
• Reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets
• Advice on crypto-assets
• Portfolio management of crypto-assets
• Transfer services for crypto-assets

• Custody and administration of crypto-assets. Safekeeping or controlling crypto-assets, or the means of access to them such as private keys, on behalf of clients.
• Operating a crypto-asset trading platform. Managing a multilateral system that brings together buying and selling interests in crypto-assets so that contracts are concluded.
• Exchange of crypto-assets for funds. Buying or selling crypto-assets against fiat money using the provider's own capital.
• Exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets. Concluding contracts with clients to swap one crypto-asset for another using the provider's own capital.
• Execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients. Concluding agreements to buy or sell crypto-assets on behalf of clients, including subscribing to offers.
• Placing of crypto-assets. Marketing crypto-assets to purchasers on behalf of or for the account of the offeror or a related party.
• Reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets. Receiving a client's order to buy or sell crypto-assets and passing it to a third party for execution.
• Advice on crypto-assets. Giving personalised recommendations to a client about transactions in crypto-assets or the use of crypto-asset services.
• Portfolio management of crypto-assets. Managing portfolios that include crypto-assets on a discretionary, client-by-client basis under a mandate.
• Transfer services for crypto-assets. Moving crypto-assets on behalf of a client from one distributed-ledger address or account to another.

Where it is valid

How long it takes

Statutory: 40 working days from receipt of a complete application¹. Observed: not published. The statutory clock usually starts only when the regulator treats the application as complete, and pauses while it waits for answers to its questions.

Buying a company that already holds it

Prior notification with an objection period. Acquiring or increasing a qualifying holding reaching or crossing 10%, 20%, 30%, or 50% of capital or voting rights, or gaining control of a credit institution, payment institution, or investment firm, requires prior written notification to BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank. BaFin conducts an assessment of acquirer reliability, professional competence, financial soundness, and money laundering risks within 60 working days from receipt of a complete filing, interruptible once by up to 20 working days (or 30 working days if non-EEA) to request additional information, under Section 2c KWG, applied mutatis mutandis to payment and e-money institutions via Section 14 ZAG and to investment firms via Section 24 WpIG.⁶

Laws behind it

• Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation: Regulation (EU) 2023/1114