German Stock Exchange Unit Finally Gets License for Crypto Custody

Bafin, Germany’s financial regulator, finally issued Boerse Stuttgart Stock Exchange a license for crypto custody. Blocknox, the exchange’s digital unit, is the one given the permit.

This will enable Boerse Stuttgart Digital to offer crypto trading and fiduciary custody to institutional investors. Some institutions it expects in its customer base are banks, brokers, asset managers, and family offices.

According to the CEO of the exchange Matthias Voekel, the license will help the second-largest exchange to be a one-stop shop with full regulations for brokerage, crypto trading, and custody of digital assets. This makes them the best infrastructure partner for banks, brokers, and asset managers. Voekel revealed that a high six-digit number of end customers are already enjoying the liquidity.

The managing director of Boerse Stuttgart Digital and Blocknox, Oliver Vins, added that transparency, reliability, and stability are key for a functional crypto market. The Bafin license will enable the exchange to offer that.

This is not the first time the exchange is getting into crypto. Back in 2018, it introduced a crypto trading app, Bison. This helped it to reach trading volumes of over $2.4 billion by 2021, making it the sixth-largest stock exchange in Europe.

Crypto custody services were officially legalized in Germany beginning of 2020. Companies needed to obtain a special license to offer that. Boerse Stuttgart announced its intentions to get into crypto custody in February 2020. It applied for the license but was initially only granted a provisional status of a regulated financial service provider. The exchange finally getting a license is good for the company and the entire crypto community in Germany. Boerse Stuttgart will join the ranks of big international firms offering Bitcoin and crypto custody.