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Germany ICO Regulations
In this article, the Founder of Blockchain Law Lab and Founding Partner of Gurcan Partners, Att. Bedrettin Gürcan will mention Germany ICO Regulations.
This article is just a short part of the Academic Research of the Att. Bedrettin Gürcan on the topic of The Legal Framework of Cryptocurrencies and ICOs. It is one of the most detailed law guides on the topic. To download all study including a wide aspect of regulations from all over the world, please click here.
Germany Ico Regulations
In Germany, German Stock Corporation Law does not apply to initial token offerings because the tokens are not required to carry any membership rights, information rights, control rights or voting right. (BaFin: “Initial Coin Offerings: High Risks for Consumers, 2017)
On March 29, 2018, BAFIN published an advisory letter on the classification of the tokens as a financial instrument. (Supervisory classification of tokens or cryptocurrencies underlying “initial coin offerings” (ICOs) as financial instruments in the field of securities supervision,) This paper is so similar to the FINMA ICO Guideline in Switzerland. According to this letter, to accept tokens as a security, tokens have to meet these criteria in particular:
- Transferability,
- Negotiability on the financial market or capital market (Cryptocurrency exchange trading platforms can be deemed financial or capital markets),
- The embodiment of rights in the token, (For example shareholders’ rights embodied in the token)
- The token must not meet the criteria for an instrument of payment (For example payment coins meet),
Every token will be investigated as a case-by-case assessment based on the circumstances.
Furthermore, if a token, offered by ICO meets these criteria, these domestic laws may be applied:
- The German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz),
- The German Insurance Supervision Act (Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz),
- The German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz),
- The German Securities Prospectus Act (Wertpapierprospektgesetz),
- The German Capital Investment Code (Kapitalanlagegesetzbuch),
- The German Payment Services Supervision Act (Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz),
- The German Capital Investment Act (Vermögensanlagengesetz)
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Berlin-based crowdfunding company Bitbond has released a prospectus approved by German financial regulator BaFin to raise funds by issuing a security token bond on the Stellar blockchain, without a depositary bank, without certificates or coupons and intermediaries. In the above-mentioned prospectus, it is stated that