In mid-July 2021, the ECB decided to counter cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether or Tether with its own digital euro. It would take two years to finalize the details, and this is to be followed by a test phase of around three years. According to ECB Director Fabio Panetta, the digital euro will therefore not exist before 2026.

Crypto stocks are developing rapidly
But the cryptocurrency train will not stop for a long time, because it has long since outgrown the haze of youngsters eager to experiment. Private and government initiatives are trying out their own digital currencies, and there is the possibility that large money circuits will emerge here apart from the central banks. After all, according to www.coinmarketcap.com, the capitalization of the global crypto market is currently $2.05 trillion, of which Bitcoin alone accounts for $809.6 billion and Ethereum $391.1 billion.

Legal infrastructure is created
In addition to the ECB, European legislators are also feeling their way towards crypto assets. After all, last year crypto assets were included as permissible financial instruments as well as crypto custodians in the German Banking Act (KWG). Coinbase Germany GmbH was subsequently the first company to be granted permission by BaFin to provide crypto custody services in Germany.

Things are also moving forward in the fund sector and the new version of §284 KAGB sets a milestone: the German Fund Act opens the investment universe for special AIFs to crypto stocks as well. Now special AIFs are allowed to invest up to 20% of their assets in crypto stocks.

Only 29% of crypto investors in Germany are female
But although the crypto world is developing rapidly, only around 29% of crypto investors in Germany are female; Coinbase's 2021 survey shows this. "To what this can be attributed is difficult to say. Probably a whole bundle of causes is responsible for it. From surveys, Coinbase knows that most users tend to be male and more likely to be under 45. In this respect, the crypto market is not very different from the stock market," says Sascha Rangoonwala, Country Manager Germany at Coinbase, and has a solution ready: "In order to address women more specifically, a combination of a targeted approach, the use of role models and innovative formats is probably helpful. The latter is relevant for all target groups. With its Earn program, Coinbase shows how this can be done."

Earn program offers low-threshold opportunity to get a taste of the crypto world
With its Earn program, Coinbase wants to bring cryptocurrencies closer to everyone and make access to them as easy as possible. "It is an exciting way for female investors and anyone else interested to approach the topic of cryptocurrencies in a playful way without any risk, and at the same time get real cryptocurrencies," the company shares in a press release.

Shoert videos and animations at https://www.coinbase.com/de/earn explain different cryptocurrencies and the projects behind them. In a subsequent quiz, Coinbase users can prove their newly acquired knowledge and receive coins in the respective cryptocurrency for correct answers. The earned cryptocurrencies are paid out directly afterwards and displayed in the portfolio in the Coinbase app or on Coinbase.com/en. The cryptocurrencies can then be held, exchanged for fiat money, transferred to another wallet or exchanged for other cryptocurrencies, for example.

According to Coinbase, more than €800 million in crypto has been distributed by Coinbase to learners since the program's launch in 2018.

Profilbild von Anke Dembowski

Anke Dembowski

Anke Dembowski is a financial journalist and author of various investment fund-related and other financial books. She is also a co-founder of the "Fondsfrauen" network.

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