Many business entities have already met the prescribed requirements and received authorization from national competent authorities to offer crypto-assets to the public or to provide crypto-asset services. However, the first measure to ban the offer of crypto-assets to the public, based on MiCAR, has also already been imposed.

In Germany, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFIN)  has identified serious shortcomings in the authorisation procedure regarding the USDe token issued by Ethena GmbH and on March 21, 2025 imposed supervisory measures that are immediately enforceable. BaFIN prohibited Ethena GmbH from continuing to offer its USDe tokens to the public and instructed the company to have the corresponding reserve of assets frozen by the custodians. Holders of USDe tokens could no longer temporarily redeem them with Ethena GmbH. However, trading in USDe tokens on the secondary market was unaffected by BaFin’s measures.

As the company did not fully comply with imposed supervisory measures, on 4 April 2025, BaFin imposed a coercive fine on Ethena GmbH in the total amount of EUR 600,000. In addition, BaFin issued a ban on payments and sales with the aim of safeguarding the assets of the company so that it can meet its obligations to its creditors

Ethena GmbH, domiciled in Frankfurt am Main, entered the German market using a transitional provision under MiCAR. This provision allows issuers that issued asset-referenced tokens in accordance with applicable law before 30 June 2024 to continue to do so until they are granted or refused an authorisation. This is subject to the condition that they apply for the relevant authorisation before 30 July 2024. Ethena GmbH submitted the application for authorisation on 29 July 2024. Ethena GmbH has been issuing its USDe token in Germany since 28 June 2024. A total of approximately 5.4 billion tokens are currently in circulation. The majority of these tokens were issued outside Germany before 28 June 2024 and before MiCAR became applicable.

USDe is not a traditional dollar-backed stablecoin but a “synthetic dollar.” Its reserve structure consists of 50% spot positions in Bitcoin/ Ethereum and 50% short perpetual futures (“basis trade”). Positive funding rates enabled payouts in the staking token sUSDe. This structure at times delivered double-digit yields, but relied heavily on sustained long bias in the futures market — introducing liquidity and counterparty risks.

In the ongoing authorisation procedure, BaFin has identified serious deficiencies in the company’s business organisation as well as violations of the requirements under MiCAR:

1. Obligation to have a reserve of assets, and composition and management of such reserve of assets – Ethena GmbH states that it exclusively holds other crypto-assets as reserve assets. The value of one USDe token is purportedly kept stable at the level of one US dollar by, among other methods, using hedging derivatives.  Based on Article 36 MiCAR, the reserve of assets shall be composed and managed in such a way that: (a) the risks associated to the assets referenced by the asset-referenced tokens are covered; and (b)the liquidity risks associated to the permanent rights of redemption of the holders are addressed. Assets received by the issuer when issuing the EMTs or ARTs may be kept (e.g. deposits in credit institutions, commodities…) or invested in highly liquid financial instruments. All of them integrate the reserve of assets. Thereby,  MiCAR envisages a minimum amount of deposits with credit institutions of 30% of the assets referenced in each official currency.
2. Own funds requirements – Lack of evidence for the required own funds under Article 31 MiCAR;
3. Governance requirements – No proven three-lines-of-defense model or EU-based risk manager;
4. Prospectus Obligation – BaFin also had sufficient grounds to suspect that Ethena GmbH is offering securities to the public in Germany in the form of sUSDe tokens from Ethena OpCo Ltd. without the required prospectus. The USDe and sUSDe tokens are linked in such a way that investors can obtain an sUSDe token in exchange for a USDe token. This sUSDe token grants investors the right to the return of the USDe token along with an additional yield.

Ethena GmbH withdrew its application on 3 April 2025, resulting in the termination of the authorisation procedure. Therefore, Ethena GmbH could no longer use the transitional provision under MiCAR and cannot conduct any business in the European Union.

On 14 April, BaFin ordered Ethena GmbH to wind up its business that was subject to an authorisation requirement. As part of the winding-up process, Ethena GmbH is obliged to cease its business and to reverse its transactions that were subject to an authorisation requirement so that it can meet its creditors’ claims. Ethena GmbH was not able to provide BaFin with any credible information on the number of customers within the European Union that had executed transactions with the company. The company must now carry out the redemption of its USDe crypto tokens based on a detailed plan under the supervision and subject to the agreement of BaFin. Ethena GmbH must inform its customers about the details of the redemption process as soon as possible. BaFin is in close communication with the company in this regard. Trading in USDe tokens on the secondary market is no longer permissible in the European Union.

On 25 June 2025, BaFin issued instructions to Ethena GmbH to wind up its business and ordered re­demp­tion pro­cess for US­De to­kens. Athena GmbH is obliged to now conduct an orderly and transparent redemption process, under the supervision of a special representative appointed by BaFin, and offer all USDe token holders the opportunity to redeem their tokens in accordance with the terms of the redemption plan agreed with BaFin. Holders of USDe tokens have the opportunity from now until 6 August 2025 (a total of 42 calendar days) to assert redemption claims against Ethena GmbH in accordance with the provisions of the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR).