Proposed Legislation in Germany Could Allow $425B to Flow Into Crypto: Report

A new German law could theoretically bring as much as €350 billion (~$425 billion) of institutional investment into the cryptocurrency market, financial newspaper Boersen Zeitung reported.

• The report cites analysis by Sven Hildebrandt, CEO of Distributed Ledger Consulting (DLC).
• The bill, which was approved by Germany’s parliament last week, is expected to take effect on July 1 if it is approved by the upper house, the Bundesrat.
• Under the legislation, wealth and institutional investment fund managers, known as Spezialfonds (special funds), will be able to invest up to 20% of their portfolio in crypto.
• If they all did so to the 20% limit, nearly $425 billion would move from other assets into crypto, based on the total assets under management (AUM) of such funds in Germany.
• The legislation could prove a significant development for wider acceptance of crypto institutional investment across Europe, given Germany’s status as the eurozone’s most powerful economy.
• There have been other signs of such acceptance of crypto emanating from Germany in recent months, with Deutsche Bank announcing its intention to offer custody and brokerage services to its institutional clients in December.