Germany: Digital Collectible NFTs Not Securities

NFTs are also not classified as investments, but that too could change

article-image

muhammadtoqeer/Shutterstock.com modified by Blockworks

share

Germany’s finance watchdog says it hasn’t found any NFTs that can be classified as a security, but that doesn’t mean they won’t crop up.

BaFin says it studied different kinds of NFTs: digital collectibles, across gaming and the metaverse (including virtual real estate). It considers NFTs to be securities if they:

  • bare hallmarks of regular securities (membership rights or contractual claims, like stocks or debt),
  • are transferable,
  • and can be traded on the financial market.

“So far, BaFin is not aware of any NFTs that are to be classified as securities in the regulatory sense,” BaFin said (automatically translated.

“On the one hand, the tokens have so far lacked embodied rights similar to securities. And on the other hand, NFTs are usually provided with individual rights and content, so that standardization and thus tradability in the sense of the regulatory concept of securities is ruled out.”

The distinction ultimately boils down to the rights an NFT issuer associates with the digital asset and how it will be used after the token is purchased, the report said. 

“With the currently observed use of NFT, in particular for the tokenization of digital works of art, the qualification as a financial instrument in the form of an investment or a debt security is not necessarily necessary,” BaFin said.

Rather than Bored Apes or CryptoPunks being securities, Bafin would more so consider this an example of an NFT security: 1,000 NFTs that all embody the same repayment and interest claims.

Bafin noted that mere speculation that a token can generate profit is not sufficient reasoning to classify an NFT as an investment.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

The march toward an interoperable and onchain-by-default internet depends on reliable messaging and value transfer across heterogeneous domains. Crosschain protocols now process >$1.3T in combined annual transfer volume and secure tens of millions of user interactions, yet no single design dominates.

article-image

The goal, per Santiago Santos, is to make crypto a relatable piece of tech for people who may not even understand it

article-image

Stripe stablecoin unit aims to operate under a federal charter enabling regulated stablecoin issuance and custody services

by Blockworks /
article-image

Will TradFi make crypto better or create more problems than it solves?

article-image

Subtle decisions by risk curators saved Aave from significant turmoil

article-image

The new Rootstock Institutional unit aims to connect professional investors to Bitcoin-native yield and liquidity strategies anchored in BTC’s security layer

by Blockworks /
article-image

DOJ files record civil forfeiture against more than 127,000 BTC linked to scam activity

by Blockworks /