BaFin Rejects Bitcoin.de MiCA Application, Trading Halt Continues

Bitcoin Group SE is scrambling to find an alternative path forward for its bitcoin.de platform after the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) rejected its subsidiary futurum bank AG's application for authorization as a crypto-asset service provider under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The Oct. 6 announcement marks a significant setback for one of Germany's longest-running crypto trading platforms, which has over 1.1 million registered users.

Trading on bitcoin.de has been largely suspended since June 12, as futurum bank awaited MiCA authorization. The platform had been revamped in 2025 to transition from its original peer-to-peer marketplace model to a full brokerage model, with planned offerings including more than 100 cryptocurrencies, crypto swaps, and staking services. The company previously confirmed that customers' crypto holdings had already been migrated to new custody infrastructure and its legacy trading system had been decommissioned.

Bitcoin Group SE CEO Moritz Eckert said the company had anticipated the possibility of a refusal and is now pursuing an alternative operating model. The group is exploring options to resume trading through regulated partners "as quickly as possible" and will review the BaFin decision, with the option to lodge a formal objection or submit a new application in the future. "Our priority now is to implement the alternative operating model and to keep our customers transparently informed about the next steps," Eckert stated.

The rejection highlights the challenges European crypto firms face under MiCA, the EU's comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets. With BaFin enforcement of MiCA now in full effect, exchanges operating without proper authorization face continued operational restrictions. The situation also comes amid broader European debate over crypto regulation, including a recent petition signed by 50,000 Europeans calling on the EU to ease stablecoin rewards restrictions in the ongoing MiCA review.