German banks trading with cryptocurrencies, BaFin

BaFin states the unnamed financial institutions are being supervised, suggesting there is an unspoken authorisation allowing them to operate with the virtual coins. The confirmation came in response to inquiries by parliamentary member Thomas Lutze, of the leftist populist political party The Left.

There are currently no open investigations into any of the six banks nor are they suspected of breaching their obligations, due diligence, tax evasion or money laundering. “Each institute, which has permission for proprietary trading, also has the right to set up (ATM) machines that allow the exchange of Bitcoin in euros and vice versa. So far it is not known that this was done,” says BaFin.

The ministry also says it does not perceive any present significant threats posed by cryptocurrencies that could affect the country’s financial markets. It adds that there are no plans for digital currencies to be adopted at national level by any EU country, saying that the region has plenty of difficult issues to deal with at present.