Cooperatives and Tokenization
In an industry defined by regulatory fragmentation, our decision to establish tokenforge under German law in 2021 was more than strategic – it was foundational. Built in one of the world’s most stringent regulatory environments, we didn’t treat compliance as a future retrofit. We treated it as infrastructure. That choice now defines our structural advantage as the digital asset industry enters a new phase of institutional adoption and regulatory harmonization under MiCAR.
Regulatory Certainty as Infrastructure
At the time we founded tokenforge, the digital asset landscape across Europe – and globally – was fragmented and inconsistent. Most jurisdictions either lacked clear rules or provided only partial regulatory guidance. Germany stood apart. With early amendments to the German Banking Act (KWG) in 2020, and the enactment of the Electronic Securities Act (eWpG) in 2021, Germany became the first major EU economy to recognize tokenized securities as legally equivalent to traditional instruments.
Building within this framework allowed us to treat legal clarity as a design principle. TokenSuite, our API-first, modular infrastructure for Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization, was built to operate under the eWpG from day one. That meant integrating directly with licensed registrar services, custody providers, KYC infrastructure, and payment rails – all within the scope of BaFin supervision.
First-Mover Position in a Harmonized Market
This early alignment with Germany’s forward-thinking regulatory regime positioned us ahead of the curve for MiCAR – the EU-wide Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation that is now coming into force. While many firms across Europe are now preparing to adapt their models for MiCAR, we’ve already operated for four years under a framework that anticipates its core principles.
Germany’s legislation did not merely parallel MiCAR – it pre-empted it. The legal treatment of crypto custody, electronic securities, and token issuance already resembled MiCAR's upcoming mandates. For us, this translates into a lower operational burden, greater readiness for cross-border scaling, and a direct path to EU-wide passporting.
A Compliance-First Ecosystem, Not a Product
From inception, our approach was not to build a tool. It was to build infrastructure. The launch of more than 30 TokenSuites across five EU jurisdictions, under full alignment with MiFID II, eWpG, and MiCAR, reflects this intent. Today, TokenSuite is live, operational, and proven – not a prototype. It enables the compliant issuance and management of tokenized assets across real estate, equity, infrastructure, and more.
By embedding compliance into the platform architecture – not layering it on top – we turned what others treat as an obstacle into a scalable foundation. And because integrating BaFin licensed Parties enforces strict IT, AML, and operational standards, every platform built on our infrastructure inherently meets institutional-grade expectations.
Regulatory Alignment Enables Strategic Participation
The structural advantage of building under German law also extends to how we participate in shaping future regulation. tokenforge was selected for the EU Blockchain Sandbox, a policymaker-guided environment where regulatory frameworks are tested with live projects. Our project in the sandbox – the compliant tokenization of CO₂ certificates – underscores both the complexity of our capabilities and the level of trust regulators have placed in our infrastructure.
Our decision to build in Germany wasn’t about choosing convenience. It was about choosing credibility. The result is a platform built to meet the most demanding standards, now poised to expand across a harmonized European market with minimal friction.
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Build Where It’s Hardest, Scale Where It Matters
