Cryptocurrency adoption is advancing in Germany, particularly among younger investors, while the UK is gradually falling behind, largely due to lagging regulations, according to CoinShares crypto researcher Luke Nolan.
German cryptocurrency adoption is showing “very good progress” through “family offices, wealth managers, individual advisors” and younger generations looking to invest inherited wealth in digital assets, Nolan told Cointelegraph on the Chain Reaction show on Thursday.
In contrast, the UK is “still very much behind,” said Nolan, adding that the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) only lifted its ban on crypto exchange-traded products less than a year ago, making its digital asset market “nascent.” The regulator previously banned these products from retail participants in January 2021.
Germany has 89 licensed crypto-asset service providers, accounting for 25.5% of companies in the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) register, updated on Wednesday. The EU’s biggest economy was also the bloc’s leader by MiCA authorization in June, with 57 authorized crypto companies.
Source: Cointelegraph
Leading German banks are venturing into crypto
The adoption trend is not lost on the largest German banks.
The country’s biggest, Deutsche Bank, revealed on Wednesday that it was awaiting regulatory approval to launch crypto custody solutions for institutional clients in Europe, with a license expected in October.
In April 2024, Germany’s largest federal bank, the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, started offering crypto custody solutions after partnering with the Austria-based Bitpanda for its institutional custody platform.
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Meanwhile in the UK, the FCA on Wednesday issued final guidance outlining when crypto activities may require authorization under the country’s incoming regulatory regime.
The regulator will open licensing applications on Sept. 30, with a Feb. 28, 2027 deadline for firms seeking transitional arrangements ahead of the new regime taking effect on Oct. 25, 2027.
On Thursday, the FCA announced that it sent a cease-and-desist letter to three London locations suspected of facilitating illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading.
The UK Parliament approved regulations bringing digital assets within the FCA’s regulatory remit in February and finalized a package of rules and guidance in June.
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