Regulatory hurdles: Bitvavo is withdrawing from Germany

Regulatory hurdles: Bitvavo is withdrawing from Germany

The Dutch crypto exchange Bitvavo will completely withdraw from the German market for regulatory reasons. Instead of the application for a BaFin license, which was submitted in May 2023, a MiCA license application is now being sought. This makes it possible to transfer the license from the Netherlands to other European countries, including Germany.

For German customers, this means that they can continue to buy cryptocurrencies at Bitvavo and deposit money until May 10, 2024. The sale of cryptocurrencies remains possible until July 31, 2024. It is recommended that German citizens liquidate their account by the mentioned date and either transfer their crypto balance to another wallet or withdraw in euros to their bank account.

It is important to emphasize that Bitvavo is not insolvent and the cryptocurrencies held on the platform are safe. There is no need to panic. German customers have the option of withdrawing their coins to a self-managed wallet or hardware wallet. Alternatively, you can open an account at another exchange and transfer your coins there.

With regard to tax aspects, it should be noted that a transaction, i.e. sending coins, does not constitute a tax event and does not extend the holding period. Customers who are not interested in crypto transactions or have been holding their coins for more than a year can also sell their coins and have them paid out to their bank account in euros. Bitvavo has answered all the important questions regarding the withdrawal from Germany in a detailed article.