The cryptocurrency trading app of Germany’s second-largest stock exchange, Boerse Stuttgart, exceeded 100,000 users on March 30 amid increasingly permissive regulations in the country.
The Bison app, which launched on Jan. 31st, 2019, has attracted a six-figure user base in just 14 months.
Bison users grow 40% during Q1 2020
Ulli Spankowski, the chief executive of Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures subsidiary and developer of the Bison app, Sowa Lab GmbH, notes that the milestone has been reached amid a 40% growth in users since the start of 2020.
Boerse Stuttgart’s app supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Ripple (XRP) trading. Bison plans to soon support Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and roll out a desktop application.
Bison is available to citizens domiciled in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. While most of the apps users are around 37 years old on average, Bison reports that they’ve had user activity from individuals aged from 18 to 91 years old.
New German regulations drive institutional interest
On Jan 1, 2020, Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) passed “new regulatory standards” to align with the European Union’s Fifth Anti Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD).
The new regulations mean businesses dealing with crypto assets are classified as financial services providers under Germany’s Banking Act, and require BaFin’s authorization. The new legislation also allows German banks to offer cryptocurrency products.
The strengthening of Germany’s crypto regulations has sparked the beginnings of a wave of institutional adoption, with 40 German banks filing applications seeking authorization to offer digital asset services by Feb. 7.