A new law has been proposed in Germany that would allow banks in the country to act as intermediaries in the sale and custody of digital currencies such as Bitcoin. The proposal is part of a bill that would implement the fourth EU Money Laundering Directive.
According to the report by German media Handelsbatt, if the law is succesfully put forth, “starting in 2020, financial institutions will be able to offer their customers online banking, virtually at the touch of a button, along with classic securities such as stocks and bonds, as well as cryptocurrencies. The law also provides for further relief, such as extended application deadlines for the necessary license.”
It appears that the bill has already received the approval of the Bundestag and is now awaiting the decision of the country’s 16 states.
I wonder about the adoption of this kind of change to the banking sector by the Germans. I feel Germans are more generally conservative when it comes to finances, simply due to the nature of the economy there. But maybe the younger generations will help push these changes more mainstream. Very interesting to see how this goes.
I have not seen this news in Handelsblatt. Maybe I have missed it. Anyway, if EU is planning to allow banks to deal with crypto currencies, why did they forbid Libra to enter into EU market?