Act on the Introduction of Electronic Securities (eWpG)
Until now, securities could only be acquired as physical certificates. Since the beginning of June 2021, a paperless, digital alternative has been available to investors and issuers when the Act on the Introduction of Electronic Securities (eWpG) comes into force. This means that the trend is moving further in the direction of digitization of the financial industry.
The Electronic Securities Act is intended to open up German law to electronic securities. Investors and issuers can now freely choose between the classic paper certificate or the digitized form. To ensure the marketability of securities and legally secure acquisition, the law provides for an electronic securities register for the registration of digitized securities.
A distinction is made between two types of electronic securities registries: central securities registries and crypto securities registries. Crypto securities registers are decentralized registers, e.g., blockchain-based or DLT-based in general, the maintenance of which is now regulated as another financial service under the supervision of BaFin within the meaning of the German Banking Act (KWG). The crypto custody business, which is currently coming strongly to the fore, is thus explicitly taken into account in the eWpG.
The eWpG is to be concretized by an “Ordinance on Requirements for Electronic Securities Registries (eWpRV)”. A draft bill of the eWpRV from the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection is already available.
Jointly exploiting innovative opportunities
We follow the exciting developments in the field of electronic securities for you and support you in the realization of your services. We will be happy to inform you about the opportunities to get involved in this innovative sector and to master the new challenges together.
