• Merger of Bitcoin Deutschland AG into futurum bank AG resolved
• Cryptotrading and custody for retail and institutional customers from a single unit
• High synergy effects at organizational level
• New growth impetus from institutional clients
• Unification forms Germany’s first „crypto bank“

Herford, 24 August 2020 – Bitcoin Group SE (ISIN DE000A1TNV91) has decided to merge Bitcoin Deutschland AG with futurum bank AG, its two wholly owned subsidiaries. In the course of the merger, Bitcoin Deutschland AG will be integrated into futurum bank AG and futurum bank AG will become the legal successor of Bitcoin Deutschland AG. This integration measure will enable Bitcoin Group SE to strengthen the Group's offering as a cryptocurrency trading platform and depository and to offer its customers an even better service from a single unit.

Within the framework of the Act on the Implementation of the Amending Directive to the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, BaFin created a uniform legal framework when the Act came into force on January 1, 2020, enabling banks to offer crypto depository. As a result of the merger, Bitcoin Group SE is bundling the regulatory licenses held in the Group under a unit already licensed under regulatory law. At the same time, the reduction of organizational and regulatory complexity results in high synergy effects and considerable cost savings.

The aim is to make the crypto marketplace accessible to institutional and corporate customers in the future. The unification of the crypto business bitcoin.de and the Investment Banking services of the futurum bank AG forms Germany’s first "crypto bank". This is accompanied by the opening of Europe's largest crypto trading platform for institutional clients via futurum bank AG. This measure opens up a new customer base for Bitcoin Group SE and thus additional sales potential beyond the existing business.

"The interest in crypto assets has once again gained considerable momentum due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the interest of institutional investors is also increasing steadily. Also in view of the recently published draft bill for the introduction of electronically deposited securities and the crypto-custody already enshrined in law. As a pioneer in the crypto-scene we are pushing ahead with the merger to create the organizational conditions that will enable us to benefit from these developments. We are confident that we will be able to generate new, additional growth impulses for Bitcoin Group SE in our business with institutional customers," says Marco Bodewein, Managing Director of Bitcoin Group SE and Member of the Board of futurum bank AG.

With the merger becoming legally effective by entry in the commercial register, which is expected to take place in October, Michael Nowak, the current Managing Director of Bitcoin Deutschland AG, and Per Hlawatschek, the current CIO of the Group, will be appointed as new members of the Managing Board of futurum bank AG. Both appointments are subject to the approval of the financial supervisory authorities. The founder and CEO of Bitcoin Deutschland AG and CEO of the majority shareholder Priority AG, Oliver Flaskämper, will leave his position with the legal force of the merger and will in future act as a consultant for the strategic business development.