New law makes Germany “crypto heaven”

The German parliament today passed a bill allowing banks to sell and store cryptocurrencies from next year. 

The new legislation will come into force on 1 January 2020, and will require current custody providers and crypto exchanges operating in the country to take steps, before the end of the year, to apply for a German license.  

The law will not only put Germany, the world’s fourth biggest economy, at the forefront of regulation in cryptocurrencies, but heralds a milestone in the adoption of cryptocurrencies.   

“Germany leads the way in crypto regulation, for sure. This leads to institutional investors coming to Germany, as they want security and regulation,” Sven Hildebrandt, partner at German crypto consultancy DLC, told Decrypt. “Germany is well on its way to becoming a crypto-heaven.”

The bill was passed by the Bundestag, the lower house of the German Parliament, earlier this month,  and approved by the upper house, the Bundesrat, today.

It amends a clause in…