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Recently, Deutsche Bundesbank published a study on the payment behavior and habits in Germany (for 2021). The study is very, very detailed and provides data for all kinds of questions around payments. The main takeaway is that cash is still king in Germany

A survey conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of OMFIF and G+D which provides insights into consumers' attitudes towards new digital forms of payments, including CBDC, in four countries: Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria and the US. The survey findings reveal a sharp difference in attitudes towards CBDCs between consumers in developed and developing countries. In Nigeria - where a pilot CBDC project was launched in October - 91% of respondents say they are likely to use CBDCs, with 60% of consumers saying so in Indonesia. However, these figures fall to just 24% in the US and 14% in Germany. This suggests CBDCs could offer a 'leapfrog' moment in payments in emerging markets, where systems are less developed, compared to countries such as the US and Germany, where consumers have many established payment options already.

To help clarify Fintech regulatory positions and move policy forward, French and German regulators have started a variety of initiatives, ranging from novel legislation in France to preliminary expert hearings in Germany. France has paved the way with the "PACTE bill" and a new regime for crypto-asset players. Germany is taking a similar path with a public consultation launched by a cooperation of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice in early March.

Germany plans to introduce draft regulations allowing blockchain bonds as soon as this summer, local daily business news outlet Handelsblatt reported May 9.

Marco Polo, a trade finance blockchain that has partnered over 20 banks, is testing its first trade deal between Germany and Russia.

In a survey of 3,000 banking customers around the world, Kantar found that 93% of consumers in China have used neobank services, 50% of Indians, and 32% of Brazilians. However, across Western Europe only a small minority of consumers has opened a neobank account, with the Netherlands and Germany leading with 4% usage, and only 2% of U.S. consumers.ds and Germany lead with 4% usage; France and Spain are lagging with 2% usage In the USA, only 2% of consumers have utilised the services of a neobank"

After Visa and Mastercard gave it the boot, PornHub is now accepting only crypto only for its premium service in most countries. In at least some EU countries, for instance Amsterdam, Germany, Finland, users appear to be able to use Lastschrift (direct bank debit) or SEPA (the euro zone the bank transfer system). Pornhub's five largest traffic sources come from the U.S. with 23.76%, followed by Japan, Germany, France, and the U.K. So does that make Bitcoin a medium of exchange, at least in the U.S.?

G+D and the Official Monetary Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) surveyed consumers' attitudes towards central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria, and the United States. The survey revealed sharp differences between consumers in developed countries, where consumers already have many established digital payment options, and developing countries, where there are fewer such options. In Nigeria, 91% of respondents say they are likely to use CBDC, with 60% of consumers saying so in Indonesia. However, these figures fall to just 24% in the United States and 14% in Germany. CBDC awareness is also much higher in emerging markets.

Trading has started on the Boerse Stuttgart Digital Exchange. Selected users in Germany can connect directly to the trading venue, where they can trade the Bitcoin-Euro pair initially.

The German government has published the regulation on requirements of electronic securities registers in the official journal Bundesgesetzblatt. It entered into force on October 29, 2022. This was the final missing regulation to clarify and enable the issuance of securities (only bearer bonds so far) and fund shares on distributed ledger technology (DLT) in Germany.

Boerse Stuttgart Digital, the digital asset brand of the Boerse Stuttgart exchange group has received final licensing from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) for its blocknox service to operate as a crypto custodian. Boerse Stuttgart Digital has been providing custody services through blocknox under a provisional license since crypto custody regulations were introduced in Germany on January 1, 2020. It had begun offering trading services to German residents in the prior month and introduced a trading app in 2021. Boerse Stuttgart Digital received its final custody licensing ahead of several other contenders, including Binance. https://www.boerse-stuttgart.de/-/media/files/gruppe-boerse-stuttgart/pressemitteilungen/en/2023/230330-mr-boerse-stuttgart-digital-crypto-custody-licence.ashx

Blockchain consortium R3's trade finance platform Marco Polo has completed its first real transactions. Marco Polo, which is built on R3 enterprise blockchain platform Corda, successfully facilitated a trade between Germany and China, involving two German firms.

Datalight analyzed website traffic data from 100 top crypto exchanges to determine where traders are located. With 22M traders, the US ranks first, with 6.2M Japan ranks second, South Korea ranks third with 5.7M, followed by the UK, Russia, Brazil, Germany, Vietnam, Turkey and Canada.

European Libra users will have to treat their Libra holdings as an asset for capital gains tax purposes - and for the UK, HMRC confirms that, as a basket of currencies, Libra doesn't qualify as a currency itself. "The problem would potentially be even more serious with no annual capital gains exemption in France, Italy or Spain and a much smaller €600 limit in Germany."

The Coinbase Card will be available in Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands. The card allows users with Coinbase accounts to spend cryptocurrencies in stores and online at any merchant that accepts Visa.

The Japan-based Ocean Network Express and Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd will join the TradeLens platform launched by Danish logistics conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk and tech behemoth IBM.

Cryptocurrency companies operating in Germany will need to apply for licenses if they intend to keep working legally in the country next year.

"Australia, Canada, Germany and Sweden are close to abandoning cash payments and potentially accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method."

The European Central Bank (ECB) published in-depth results of their digital euro consultation. The survey, which ran from October 20, 2020 to January 12, 2021 and collected 8,221 responses, asked 18 questions pertaining to the benefits and challenges of issuing a digital euro and on its possible design. It found that privacy is the most demanded feature followed by security and usability. 47% of respondents were from Germany, which is notorious for its continuing high levels of cash usage, and most respondents (33%) come from the tech industry.

Beginning next year, banks in Germany will be permitted to provide the sale and storage of digital currencies of money under the new legislation. The bill has just been passed by the German federal parliament, the Bundestag, and is anticipated to be signed off by the country's 16 states.