DDA completes BaFin-shareholder control procedure establishing itself as one of the world’s first fully licensed crypto asset managers

In a letter dated January 5, 2024, Deutsche Digital Assets GmbH and its shareholders were informed by Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) of the successful completion of the shareholder control procedure. The acquisition of DDA Advisory GmbH (formerly Bernhardt Advisory GmbH) by Deutsche Digital Assets GmbH is now finally and formally completed.

As part of the shareholder control procedure, the Deutsche Bundesbank and BaFin assessed – among other parameters – the following criteria mentioned in the KWG and came to a positive conclusion:

• Reliability of the interested buyer

• Reliability and professional suitability of the institute’s future managers

• Financial solidity of the interested buyer

• Will the institution continue to be able to comply with the relevant supervisory requirements?

• Is the intended acquisition related to money laundering or terrorist financing ?

DDA and its group companies are therefore one of the world’s first fully licensed and regulated puristic crypto asset managers. Based on its licences, DDA Advisory GmbH can provide the following investment services:

1. Investment Brokerage (paragraph 2 sentence 2 number 3 WpIG)
2. Investment Advice (paragraph 2 sentence 2 number 4 WpIG)
3. Contract Brokerage (paragraph 2 sentence 2 number 5 WpIG)
4. Financial Portfolio Management (paragraph 2 sentence 2 number 9 WpIG)

DDA Group has thus expanded its range of services relating to crypto assets, including investment advice for clients (assets under advisory) and financial portfolio management (“asset management”) for clients and fund companies (assets under management).

With the takeover of DDA Advisory GmbH, the DDA Group has placed itself at the forefront of crypto service providers and consciously placed itself under regulatory supervision in order to increase the market’s trust in these new asset classes. Especially institutional investors which are also supervised by BaFin should take comfort in DDA’s licence framework and should consider investments in crypto assets. DDA Group sees itself well prepared to meet the future regulatory requirements resulting from the implementation of the MiCA Directive into German law and across the EU. This allows DDA to meet the needs of institutional investors for regulated crypto investment products from regulated providers in a tailor-made manner.