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🇩🇪 Crypto license in Germany: who holds one

100 companies hold a MiCA crypto-asset service provider licence granted in Germany by BaFin, and a further 187 licensed elsewhere in the EEA may operate there through passporting. Everything below comes from the official ESMA register, refreshed daily.

100
Licensed in Germany
1st of 30 EEA countries
287
May operate here
including passported providers
0
Warnings
entities flagged by this regulator
1
Stablecoin issuers
EMT/ART issuers based here
162
White papers
notified via this regulator

Who grants the licence in Germany

Competent authority
Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) — official website
Designated under
Article 93 of MiCA, as notified to ESMA
Licences granted
100 active, the 1st largest of the 30 EEA countries (out of 365 in the EEA)
First licence
17 January 2025 · most recent 30 October 2026

What a crypto licence in Germany requires

MiCA is a single EU rulebook: the requirements are the same in Germany as anywhere else in the European Economic Area, and only the authority reviewing the file changes. An applicant files with BaFin under Article 62, describing the services it intends to offer, its governance, the fitness of its managers and shareholders, its ICT systems, how it segregates client assets and how it handles complaints.

The company itself must have substance in the Union: a registered office in a Member State where it actually carries out part of its services, its effective management in the EU, and at least one director resident in the EU (Article 59(2)). A bank, investment firm or e-money institution does not need a new licence — it notifies its regulator under Article 60 instead, which is why familiar banks appear in the register alongside crypto-native firms.

The timetable set by the regulation

Minimum capital, by what the provider is allowed to do

ClassMinimum capitalServices coveredProviders serving Germany
Class 1 EUR 50,000 Brokerage-style services: executing orders, placing crypto-assets, transfers, receiving and transmitting orders, advice and portfolio management. 83
Class 2 EUR 125,000 Everything in class 1 plus holding client assets or trading against them: custody and administration, exchange for funds, exchange for other crypto-assets. 184
Class 3 EUR 150,000 Everything in class 2 plus operating a trading platform for crypto-assets. 20

Annex IV to MiCA, applied through Article 67: a provider must hold the higher of the amount above and one quarter of its previous year's fixed overheads. The last column places each provider that may serve clients in Germany in the class of the heaviest service it is authorised for. Full text: Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 · plain-language version: our MiCA guide.

The 100 providers licensed in Germany

Authorised by BaFin and reported to ESMA. Open one to see the exact services and the countries it may serve.

Crypto services available in Germany

How many active providers — licensed here or passported in — may offer each of the ten MiCA services to clients in Germany.

170
a. Custody and administration
20
b. Operating a trading platform
146
c. Exchange for funds
123
d. Exchange for other crypto-assets
167
e. Execution of orders
26
f. Placing of crypto-assets
68
g. Reception and transmission of orders
31
h. Advice on crypto-assets
38
i. Portfolio management
163
j. Transfer services

Passported into Germany

187 providers licensed in another EEA state that notified Germany for at least one service.

Stablecoin issuers based in Germany

Questions about crypto licensing in Germany

Is crypto legal in Germany?

Yes. Buying, holding and trading crypto-assets is legal in Germany. Since 30 December 2024 the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) applies there, so any company offering crypto services as a business must be authorised — by Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) or by another EEA regulator that has notified Germany under the passporting rules.

Which crypto exchanges are licensed in Germany?

100 providers hold a licence granted in Germany, including 360 Treasury Systems AG, AnCeKa Vermögensbetreuungs Aktiengesellschaft, Baader Bank AG, Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse GmbH, Bankhaus Scheich Wertpapierspezialist AG. A further 187 licensed elsewhere in the EEA may operate there through passporting, such as 21bitcoin, Acheron, Alaric Securities, Altcoins, Amdax B.V..

Who issues the crypto licence in Germany?

Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) is the competent authority designated under Article 93 of MiCA. It receives applications, grants or refuses the authorisation, supervises the provider afterwards and reports it to ESMA for the EU-wide register.

How long does it take to get a MiCA licence?

The regulation sets the clock, not the regulator: the authority acknowledges the application within 5 working days, has 25 working days to check that it is complete, and then 40 working days from a complete file to grant or refuse, with a reasoned decision notified within 5 working days (Article 63 of MiCA). Time spent completing a file that was filed incomplete does not count.

How much capital does a crypto licence require?

Annex IV of MiCA sets a permanent minimum of EUR 50,000 for brokerage-type services, EUR 125,000 once the provider holds client assets or exchanges them, and EUR 150,000 for operating a trading platform. A provider must hold whichever is higher: that floor, or one quarter of the previous year's fixed overheads (Article 67).

Can I use a crypto exchange licensed in another EU country?

Yes, if it has notified Germany under MiCA's passporting rules. 287 providers may currently serve clients in Germany; each provider's page on this site lists the countries it notified, service by service.

Using a crypto provider in Germany

A resident of Germany can legally use any provider on this page: those licensed by the local authority and those that passported in. What matters is that the exact company and domain you deal with is the one in the register — a licensed brand can have unlicensed affiliates, and the licence covers only the services listed on the provider's page.

If a provider serving Germany is missing here, it may be a bank or investment firm acting under Article 60 (they appear in the register too, under their legal name), or it may be operating without authorisation. The check tool looks up both lists at once, by name or by website.

Source: the interim MiCA register published by ESMA, plus the list of competent authorities notified under Article 93. This page is an independent index, not a statement by BaFin, and it is not legal advice. How the data is processed.