According to ChainCatcher news, reported by Ledger Insights, the German Parliament (Bundestag) passed the Financial Market Digitalization Act (Finanzmarktdigitalisierungsgesetz of FinmadiG) this week. The parliament responded to industry demands to ensure that legislation is in place before MiCAR fully takes effect on December 30.
FinmadiG not only involves cryptocurrencies and MiCAR, but also affects other EU laws, such as DORA and the funds transfer regulation. For MiCAR, it introduces the Cryptocurrency Market Regulation Act (KMAG), which replaces Germany's old cryptocurrency rules with MiCAR.
Technically, MiCAR is a regulation, so local laws are not required. However, legislation needs to designate BaFin as the regulatory authority; otherwise, BaFin cannot issue licenses. This would allow EU companies with cryptocurrency licenses from other countries to operate in Germany, but German companies would not be able to operate in the EU.
Additionally, MiCAR allows companies holding existing licenses to continue operations for up to 18 months, with the transition period determined by each jurisdiction. The new German legislation sets it at one year.