Boerse Stuttgart Digital has received its final license from Germany’s financial regulator BaFin to offer bitcoin trading and custody.
Boerse Stuttgart Digital, a subsidiary of the second largest stock exchange in Germany, has received the final license as a cryptocurrency custodian from Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin. The license allows the exchange to provide institutional investors the ability to trade bitcoin on the platform as well as to act as a custodian.
The exchange has been offering custody services through its Blocknox platform since January 2020, under a provisional license. With this new licensing, it will join the ranks of several major international firms officially entering into the bitcoin custodial and trading industry as of late.
Fidelity opened their bitcoin trading platform to the public this month, allowing institutional investors the option to hold their bitcoin with them as well. In addition to that, Latin America’s largest e-commerce platform by market value, Mercado Libre, introduced bitcoin trading to their Chilean users, which was already available in Brazil.
It should be noted that all of these platforms bear the risks associated with third-party custody of your bitcoin. The safest way to ensure your bitcoin is always accessible and always available is through self-custody, using a dedicated bitcoin wallet. Platforms like Boerse Stuttgart Digital and Fidelity have made bitcoin trading available to investors on these platforms, but do not necessarily further enable the true potential of bitcoin adoption.