Starting next year, German cryptocurrency companies will be required to obtain a license from the Federal Financial Supervision Authority of Germany (BaFin) in accordance with the new legislation on countering money laundering (AML). Reported by the Cointelegraph .

So, from January 1, 2020, cryptocurrencies will be considered a financial instrument, in connection with which Bitcoin exchanges and providers of cryptocurrency wallets will be required to obtain a BaFin license and comply with AML principles.

In Germany, this requirement was ambiguous. For example, a member of the local Free Democratic Party, Frank Scheffler, is confident that they will become a barrier to the development of innovations in the country and will force cryptocurrency companies to look for other jurisdictions for registering and running a business.

At the same time, some new rules seem to be a step forward. Christian Muller, a partner of the law firm Hengeler Mueller, said that this would bring regulatory clarity to the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry and stimulate the development of the industry.

“The technology has not yet been adopted by institutional investors precisely because of the lack of a reliable legal framework, ” he stressed.

Earlier, BaFin approved the tokenail of Fundament Group, a Berlin blockchain startup for the total amount of 250 million euros.

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