The Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) will apply directly in EU member states as of 12/30/2014. Title V of MiCAR concerns crypto asset services, which are still unregulated in most EU member states. In Germany, however, the regulation of crypto value services under general banking law (KWG, WpIG) is already standard: BaFin has classified currency tokens as units of account within the meaning of the KWG since 2011.

In this article, our experts Dr. Matthias Terlau and Dr. Tobias Riethmüller explain why the new regulation of MiCAR is consequently easier for German service providers than for those from other EU member states.