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GERMANY’S DEKABANK LANDS CRYPTO CUSTODY LICENSE

Germany’s DekaBank has received a bank crypto custody license from German regulator BaFin and the European Central Bank (ECB). We believe Commerzbank was the first German bank licensed last year. However, other major banks have not received licenses, including DZ Bank.

BaFin has issued another 11 crypto custody licenses, mainly for crypto firms. One of them is the digital asset custody subsidiary of Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank.

The difference with DekaBank and Commerzbank versus the crypto firms is they are licensed under the Banking Act (KWG).

This is DekaBank’s second new license this year. In July it received a license as a crypto securities registrar for the German issuance of DLT-based digital securities. These crypto securities don’t require a central securities depository (CSD) for issuance.

DekaBank is very active in the digital asset space. It is the founder of SWIAT, the blockchain platform for digital securities in which Standard Chartered and LBBW are also investors. In September Siemens used the platform to issue a €300 million digital bond.

Our understanding is that a crypto custody license is not needed for crypto securities, but is required for cryptocurrencies.

As part of the announcement, DekaBank said this allows the bank to operate throughout Europe under the EU’s MiCAR crypto legislation.

A MiCAR holdup?

We’ve previously reported that there’s a bit of a challenge with MiCAR for German institutions. In October 2023 a draft version of the Supervision of Crypto Markets Act (KMAG) was introduced. It’s the piece of legislation that supplants Germany’s old crypto rules with MiCAR. The problem is this legislation has not been passed and with the collapse of the German ruling coalition, it’s not likely soon.

Hence, while in theory DekaBank’s license will allow it to operate in the EU, we believe that may be subject to the passage of the KMAG law. We contacted DekaBank to confirm, but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.

@ Newshounds News™

Source:  Ledger Insights

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XRP LAWSUIT: JOHN REED STARK SAYS JUDGE TORRES WAS ‘MISTAKEN,’ SLAMS RIPPLE DECISION

The legal battle between Ripple and the SEC has been gaining momentum as the January 15 hearing approaches. John Reed Stark, a former SEC enforcement official and crypto skeptic, recently appeared on Docket Media LLC podcast and opened up about the historic Ripple decisions. He said that the Ripple ruling doesn’t provide broad legal clarity and should only be applied to cases with similar specific facts.

He criticized the Ripple decision, claiming that many people misunderstand the ruling, likely because they haven’t fully read it. He argued that Judge Torres was ‘mistaken on multiple counts, a view shared by other judges who have reviewed the case.

“There’s so many things about the Ripple decision that people get entirely wrong because I don’t think they read it. It’s completely… it’s respectfully to Judge Torres, I think she was mistaken on multiple counts, as does Judge Rakoff and every single other judge that has looked at that decision (thought),” he said.

Stark pointed out that the Ripple decision was twofold. First, he agreed that the initial offering of XRP tokens to sophisticated investors should have been registered as securities to protect those investors. However, Stark disagreed with the decision when it came to the secondary market, where XRP was traded on exchanges.

‘Ripple Decision Created Confusion’

He argued that the lack of a direct relationship between Ripple and retail investors meant they weren’t protected, which he believes is an unfair argument. Stark compared it to buying stocks in companies, where investors don’t have a direct contractual relationship with the company but are still protected under securities regulations.

Stark also criticized the Ripple decision for creating confusion, especially after pro-crypto companies began citing it to argue that tokens were not securities. In response, the SEC sought an interlocutory appeal, hoping to stop the ongoing proceedings. However, the judge rejected the SEC’s request, stating that the Ripple decision could not be used as precedent unless the exact same circumstances were present.

@ Newshounds News™

Source:  CoinPedia

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