Germany paves the way for “cryptoshares” with this new regulation

• Germany, one of Europe’s most crypto-friendly countries, approved to digitize stocks as “crypto stocks.”
• Germany announced the Future Financing Act, opening the door to the issuance of “crypto shares” on a regulatory basis.

Germany has long been considered one of Europe’s most crypto-friendly countries. It has now given the latest regulatory approval to digitize stocks as “crypto stocks.”

This week, the German Ministry of Finance announced future funding act. The new legislation will open the door to the issuance of “crypto shares” on a regulatory basis. Furthermore, the act seeks to integrate regulations from company law, capital markets and tax legislation.

Public companies will now be able to choose whether they want to issue their shares as traditional or electronic shares. These electronic shares can be registered in a central registry or on a blockchain, resulting in the creation of “cryptoshares.” However, it did not go into detail about the digital stocks and securities or what ledger they would be based on.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner said:

“We want to make Germany the leading place for start-ups and growth companies. Therefore, we improve access to the capital market and make it easier to raise equity capital. Small and medium-sized businesses will also benefit from this.”

Germany a leading crypto-friendly nation

According to Coincub’s Q1 2022 Global Crypto Ranking, Germany had passed Singapore as the most crypto-friendly country in the world.

It made a groundbreaking decision to include crypto investments in its massive domestic savings industry. The country has a distinct institutional attitude towards cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are accepted as a long-term investment in Germany.

Aside from the US, the country has the most Bitcoin nodes, but with a smaller population and GDP, it shows an even stronger commitment to crypto. Earlier in 2022, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority granted Coinbase’s German subsidiary a crypto depository license.

Deutsche Boerse, the German exchange operator, has also listed more than 20 crypto exchange-traded products on its digital exchange Xetra. Sparkasse sparebanken’s interest in offering crypto wallets is another important step towards institutional acceptance.