BaFin refuses MiCA licence to bitcoin.de's bank despite its banking charter and 1.1 million registered users

The halt came before the refusal. Trading on bitcoin.de has been largely suspended since June 12 ^[3], 116 days before the decision was announced ^[22], because the group had already switched off its old trading system to wait for a MiCA licence ^[12]. Futurum bank AG runs the platform for its parent, Bitcoin Group SE ^[9]. The refusal leaves the new brokerage without the licence it was waiting on. The company says customer assets remain secure ^[17].

According to Crypto Briefing, futurum bank already held a German banking licence and still needed a separate MiCA authorization for crypto services ^[4]. The application had been with BaFin since June 27, 2025 ^[2], a wait of 466 days ^[21]. Bitcoin.de has more than 1.1 million registered users, according to the company ^[11]. The figure counts sign-ups. First-half revenue was 1.59 million euros ^[14], earned while trading was still open until June 12. That comes to about 1.45 euros per registered user over six months ^[18].

The same half produced EBITDA of minus 3.25 million euros ^[14]. If EBITDA is revenue less operating costs, the group spent roughly 4.84 million euros in six months, about 0.81 million a month, and revenue covered about a third of that ^[19][20]. The second half opened with trading mostly shut. The company expects full-year revenue to keep falling and EBITDA to stay negative ^[15].

The company says it is reviewing the decision and can lodge an objection or apply again ^[13]. A new application would go back into a process that took 466 days the first time ^[21]. The route it is building now is a rebuilt bitcoin.de app in which one regulated German partner runs trading and another holds custody, with rollout targeted within weeks ^[6]. "Our priority now is to implement the alternative operating model and to keep our customers transparently informed about the next steps," said Moritz Eckert, chief executive of Bitcoin Group SE ^[7]. The company said it had prepared for the possibility of a refusal ^[8].

I think the partner route is where this ends up. It means futurum bank stops running bitcoin.de's trading and custody itself ^[6][9]. Bitcoin.de would become a front end for those 1.1 million registrations ^[11], paid whatever share of fees two outside firms leave it. The reports do not identify the partners, the fee terms or the group's cash balance. The case against that view is cost. A front end with no regulated trading or custody of its own should cost far less to run than 0.81 million euros a month ^[19], and a thinner fee share against a smaller cost base could close the gap. If the next financial update shows costs falling faster than revenue, that case is right.