BaFin MiCAR Crypto-Asset Services Guidance is a German supervisory guidance profile covering BaFin’s January 2025 Merkblatt – Hinweise zu den Kryptowerte-Dienstleistungen nach MiCAR. The guidance is not a statute, but it is a key reference for how Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority describes crypto-asset services, authorisation, notification and territorial-scope questions under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.
As of July 2, 2026, the guidance should be read together with MiCAR itself, Germany’s Crypto Markets Supervision Act (KMAG), BaFin’s crypto-asset services authorisation materials and ESMA’s MiCA register materials. MiCAR’s CASP authorisation and supervision rules have applied since December 30, 2024, while Germany selected a shortened Article 143 transitional period for pre-MiCAR providers.
BaFin MiCAR guidance scope
The guidance identifies the MiCAR services that may bring a provider within the German authorisation perimeter. These include custody and administration of crypto-assets for clients, operation of a trading platform, exchange of crypto-assets for funds or other crypto-assets, execution of orders, placing, reception and transmission of orders, advice, portfolio management and transfer services. BaFin also explains how its MiCAR analysis connects with existing German supervisory concepts under the Banking Act, Securities Institutions Act and related administrative practice.
The profile is therefore most relevant to exchanges, brokers, custodians, transfer-service providers, trading platforms, portfolio managers, advisers and regulated financial institutions considering whether a MiCAR authorisation or notification path is available in Germany. It is also relevant to issuers and platforms that need to distinguish crypto-asset services from token issuance, white paper and market-abuse obligations elsewhere in MiCAR.
Authorisation, notification and German nexus
BaFin’s guidance explains when a crypto-asset service provider may need authorisation under MiCAR Article 59 and when an already regulated financial entity may rely on an Article 60 notification route for specified crypto-asset services. The guidance also addresses who can hold an authorisation, including legal persons and certain other undertakings where the legal form gives comparable protection for third-party interests and equivalent prudential oversight.
For cross-border models, the guidance is especially important because BaFin describes when services are considered to be provided in Germany. The analysis follows BaFin’s wider domestic-connection practice: a German nexus can arise where services are operated from Germany, through a German branch or physical presence, or where a foreign provider actively targets customers with a registered office or habitual residence in Germany. BaFin recognises a passive-service exception where the service is provided on the customer’s own initiative.
Relationship to MiCAR and KMAG
MiCAR is the binding EU regulation. It creates the authorisation and operating framework for crypto-asset service providers and also regulates public offers, admission to trading, issuer disclosures, custody, consumer protection and market abuse. The German KMAG supplements MiCAR at national level by allocating supervisory powers and enforcement tools to BaFin.
BaFin’s guidance should therefore be treated as an interpretation and supervisory-practice document. It does not replace the directly applicable MiCAR text, technical standards, ESMA guidelines, EBA materials or German implementing provisions. Where the guidance references existing BaFin notices, those cross-references help readers understand how BaFin may analogise MiCAR services to familiar investment-services or financial-services concepts.
Status and timeline
MiCAR entered into force on June 29, 2023. Its rules for asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens began applying on June 30, 2024. The CASP authorisation and ongoing-supervision provisions began applying on December 30, 2024. BaFin published its crypto-asset services guidance on January 3, 2025, shortly after the CASP regime became applicable.
ESMA’s transitional-materials page describes Article 143 measures, including grandfathering and simplified authorisation for providers already operating under national law before December 30, 2024. ESMA’s published list shows Germany with a 12-month grandfathering period, shorter than the 18-month maximum. As of July 2, 2026, editors should verify any provider-specific transitional claim against BaFin’s authorisation status, the ESMA interim MiCA register and the relevant German files.
Editorial caution
This profile is a legal-reference summary only. It does not advise any person or firm on whether a specific activity is licensable, exempt, passported, grandfathered or notifiable. Any applied perimeter analysis depends on the provider’s services, customer location, legal form, marketing, custody structure, order flow, token type and regulatory history.