Deposit guarantee (deposit protection)

Deposit protection covers balances in current, instant-access and fixed-term accounts and in savings accounts if a bank becomes insolvent: by law, up to €100,000 per customer and bank.^[1] For securities business, investor compensation covers 90% of a claim, up to €20,000.^[2]

Bitcoin is not covered

Bitcoin held with an exchange or app is not a bank deposit. According to BaFin, Germany’s financial regulator, crypto-assets are generally covered neither by deposit protection nor by investor compensation.^[2] Your euro balance in a Bitcoin app may be different: if it is held as a deposit with a partner bank, deposit protection may apply there. The provider’s documents tell you whether that is the case.

What applies instead

• Insolvency protection with MiCAGlossaryMiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation)The EU regulation on markets in crypto-assets. Since 30 December 2024, exchanges, brokers and custodians in the EU have needed authorisation; the last transitional period ended on 1 July 2026. MiCA regulates providers, not Bitcoin itself.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 2 – Choosing a provider →In the glossary →×-authorised custodians: they must keep clients’ crypto-assets legally separate from their own assets, so that their creditors can’t reach them if the provider goes bust.^[4] In Germany, § 45 KMAG deems them to belong to you, so you can demand them back – unless you have allowed the provider to dispose of them for itself or others, for example for lending.^[3] More under KMAGGlossaryKMAG (German Crypto Markets Supervision Act)Germany’s act accompanying the EU’s MiCA regulation. It makes BaFin the competent supervisor, makes providing crypto services without authorisation a criminal offence and protects crypto-assets held in custody if the provider becomes insolvent.On the learning path: Stage 5 · Step 1 – Understanding custody →In the glossary →×.
• Hacks, fraud, falling prices, your own mistakes: there is no protection fund for these. After a hack, the custodian is liable if the incident is attributable to it – but only as long as it can pay.^[4]
• Self-custody: with your own wallet, you don’t depend on any provider, but you bear full responsibility for your keys.

The collapse of FTXGlossaryFTXA large crypto exchange that collapsed in November 2022. Around $8 billion in customer funds was missing, and founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Customers got dollars back instead of their bitcoin.On the learning path: Stage 5 · Step 1 – Understanding custody →In the glossary →× showed why the question ‘Who holds my bitcoin?’ matters. More in Understanding custody.

As of September 2026.