New Bill in Germany Proposes to Digitize Securities With Blockchain

Federal regulators in Germany are looking to modernize the country’s securities with blockchain technology.

On Aug. 11, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) introduced a draft bill on blockchain-based digital securities.

In the official statement, the authorities outlined that the adoption of digital securities is one of the core aspects of the federal government's blockchain strategy.

According to current legislation in Germany, financial instruments that are classified as securities must be secured in a document. 

Blockchain technology would thus help guarantee liquidity and compliance by providing a replacement for the paper certificate, the BMF and BMJV said.

According to the authorities, the proposed draft bill also improves regulatory clarity, stipulating that the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority will be acting as a major regulator in the field of blockchain-based e-stocks.

Also known as BaFin, the agency will be responsible for monitoring the issuance of digitized securities and the maintenance of decentralized ledgers in accordance with the German Banking Act, the official statement notes.

A number of global jurisdictions have been progressing with blockchain-powered digitized securities. In early July 2020, a company in the United States launched Ethereum-based trading for a new fund composed mainly of shares of U.S. Treasury securities.

Earlier in June, Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, a major Japanese traditional financial institution, announced plans to launch a digital security exchange in Japan. The company said that it aims to apply blockchain technology to the financial industry for issuing digital securities.