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Germany Pushes for Bitcoin — Could Berlin Be the Next to Adopt BTC?

Germany’s debate over Bitcoin is intensifying as lawmakers query whether or not the nation’s strict alignment with European Union (EU) rules may stifle innovation and monetary independence.

The newest movement from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) celebration urges the authorities to exempt Bitcoin from heavy regulation and taxation below the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, a transfer that would redefine Berlin’s strategy to digital cash.

Source: German Bundestag

The AfD’s proposal, titled “Recognizing the strategic potential of Bitcoin — preserving freedom via restraint in taxation and regulation,” argues that Bitcoin is a basically distinct asset class, describing it as “decentralized, non-manipulable, and restricted.”

The movement insists that Bitcoin shouldn’t fall under MiCA’s regulatory scope, warning that extreme oversight may drive capital and corporations overseas, weaken Germany’s competitiveness, and threaten its digital sovereignty.

Is Germany Ready to Treat Bitcoin Like Money, Not a Speculative Asset?

According to the movement, Bitcoin’s technological and financial traits set it other than different cryptocurrencies, making it extra comparable to a digital type of gold than to speculative tokens.

The deputies known as on the federal authorities to keep a 12-month tax-free holding interval for Bitcoin and to classify non-public mining and lightning node operations as non-commercial actions.

They additionally requested a strategic assertion recognizing Bitcoin as “free, digital cash in the twenty first century,” considering its implications for power coverage, digital freedom, and financial sovereignty.

Germany has been certainly one of Europe’s most crypto-friendly jurisdictions, combining nationwide guidelines with the new EU-wide MiCA framework.

The nation’s monetary regulator, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), oversees all crypto-asset service suppliers (CASPs) and enforces anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements.

Since MiCA took effect in December 2024, BaFin has been accountable for licensing crypto custodians, buying and selling platforms, and exchanges below the EU’s harmonized system.

A transition interval stays in place till December 30, 2025, giving current suppliers time to receive full authorization.

So far, BaFin has issued 9 MiCA licenses, greater than some other European regulator, together with approvals for Boerse Stuttgart Digital Custody and fintech agency Trade Republic.

The regulator’s management has positioned Germany as a key hub for regulated digital asset exercise inside the European Economic Area.

Germany’s Bitcoin Debate Mirrors France’s Proposal to Reject Digital Euro

AfD’s push comes simply as France’s National Assembly just lately passed a resolution opposing the European Central Bank’s digital euro whereas supporting Bitcoin and euro-based stablecoins as alternate options.

French lawmakers warned {that a} centrally managed digital foreign money may endanger privateness and monetary freedom, calling as a substitute for a nationwide technique to accumulate Bitcoin reserves.

While Germany proposes to pivot from the European Union’s oversight, the German National Bank, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, has defended the digital euro as important to preserving Europe’s monetary sovereignty, warning that with out it, the continent may grow to be depending on foreign-controlled cost techniques.

Meanwhile, figures reminiscent of Bundestag member Joana Cotar argue that Bitcoin represents “financial sovereignty for individuals,” providing safety towards inflation and authorities overreach.

Germany’s blended file with Bitcoin additionally fuels the debate. In mid-2024, the authorities sold nearly 50,000 BTC seized from criminal cases for round $2.9 billion, following authorized necessities to liquidate unstable property.

By August 2025, the value of Bitcoin had greater than doubled, which means the holdings would now be worth over $6 billion, a missed achieve of greater than $3 billion. Cotar has since urged the authorities to deal with Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset reasonably than promote it.

Despite this, Germany’s crypto economic system stays sturdy. Chainalysis knowledge shows the nation recorded $219 billion in crypto transaction quantity between July 2024 and June 2025, putting it amongst Europe’s largest markets.

Crypto adoption has expanded quickly, with an estimated 27 million users projected by the finish of 2025, half of whom are Gen Z or millennials. Institutional participation can also be rising, with Deutsche Bank getting ready to launch a digital asset custody service in 2026.

The publish Germany Pushes for Bitcoin — Could Berlin Be the Next to Adopt BTC? appeared first on Cryptonews.

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