German regulator forces platform restructuring around external partners
Germany’s financial regulator BaFin has rejected Futurum Bank AG’s application for MiCA authorization, ending the operator’s attempt to run Bitcoin.de as a regulated crypto service provider and forcing the platform to rebuild around external licensed partners.
Futurum Bank filed its MiCA application in June 2025 and saw trading suspended on Bitcoin.de on June 12 that year. The 15-month authorization process has now concluded with rejection, according to CryptoSlate. Customers can still withdraw crypto holdings, but trading and euro deposits remain halted pending the platform’s operational restructuring.
Under the new model, Bitcoin.de will retain its app, brand, and customer interface while outsourcing trading and custody functions to regulated German institutions. The platform will shift its operational focus to technology, distribution, and customer relationships, roles it can perform without MiCA authorization.
Futurum Bank will continue holding customer assets until they are transferred to a new custodian partner. Bitcoin.de did not name either the trading counterparty or the custodian institution that will assume these regulated functions.
Technical preparation for the relaunch is complete, according to the platform’s statements. Regulatory implementation remains the primary barrier to resuming trading. Bitcoin.de did not provide a firm date for when trading will resume.
BaFin’s rejection marks a shift from its previous tolerance of Futurum Bank’s crypto operations. The regulator did not specify the grounds for denying the MiCA application. Under EU rules, Futurum Bank has one month from formal notification of the rejection to file an objection or submit a fresh application.
Bitcoin.de serves 1.1 million customers. Its parent company is Bitcoin Group, which announced the operational changes following BaFin’s decision.
