Bitcoin Group seeks new model for bitcoin.de after BaFin rejects MiCA application

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Bitcoin Group BaFin MiCA rejection

Highlights

BaFin rejected futurum bank AG's MiCA application, delaying Bitcoin Group SE's plan to relaunch bitcoin.de under a new regulatory framework as announced Oct. 6.
Bitcoin.de, with more than 1.1 million registered users, had already halted trading and moved customer holdings to new custody infrastructure ahead of the planned relaunch.
Full trading restart timing remains uncertain, as Bitcoin Group reviews BaFin's decision and shifts focus to an alternative model via regulated partners.

Regulatory setback delays platform restart

As reported by Cointelegraph, citing Bitcoin Group SE in an Oct. 6 announcement, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, rejected subsidiary futurum bank AG's application for authorization as a crypto-asset service provider under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA.

The company says it had prepared for a possible refusal and is now reviewing the decision. It adds that it can file an objection or submit a new application in the future, while also working on an alternative operating model that would allow trading to resume through regulated partners as quickly as possible.

Chief executive Moritz Eckert says the immediate priority is to implement that alternative model and keep customers informed about the next steps. The refusal marks a setback for the group's effort to relaunch bitcoin.de under a revised structure this year.

Operational impact on German crypto users

Bitcoin.de is operated by futurum bank AG, a Bitcoin Group SE subsidiary, and has more than 1.1 million registered users, according to the company. The platform started as a peer-to-peer marketplace matching crypto buyers and sellers directly.

It has since been reworked into a brokerage model, with plans to offer more than 100 cryptocurrencies, crypto swaps and staking. That launch was expected in late June, but it was postponed while futurum bank waited for MiCA approval.

In an August update, bitcoin.de says customer crypto holdings had already been transferred to new custody infrastructure and its previous trading system had been switched off. Trading activity has been largely halted since June 12, leaving the timing of a full restart dependent on the group's next regulatory and operational steps.

Our earlier coverage looked at the regulatory tension in Singapore around Hyperliquid Labs, a firm linked to high-risk crypto perpetual futures, and how authorities emphasized it is not licensed or regulated locally. We noted that the situation highlights the challenge regulators face in supporting digital-asset innovation while limiting retail exposure to speculative leveraged products.

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