Bitcoin Group SE, a holding company and operator of Bitcoin.de, a licensed Bitcoin exchange in Germany and Europe’s largest Bitcoin marketplace with more than 800,000 customers, recently published its figures for the 2018 fiscal year.
Turnover amounted to TEUR 11,333 and was thus above the forecast of TEUR 9,500 adjusted in December 2018. Turnover in the previous year 2017 was TEUR 12,650. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) reached TEUR 8,657 after TEUR 10,906 in the previous year, which was around 20% lower.
As a result of the recent recommendation of the IFRS Interpretations Committee, to show cryptocurrencies as fixed assets instead of current assets and thus to show changes in value in the income statement via write-ups and write-downs, there was a higher need for write-downs in the year under review in the amount of TEUR 6,197.
The write-down has no effect on the profit from ordinary activities (EBITDA). Without the application of this accounting recommendation, profit before taxes would have been TEUR 8,629 and therefore around TEUR 1,600 above the forecasted figure of TEUR 7,000.
Bitcoin.de had 779,000 customers as of the 2018 balance sheet date. The number of users increased by 112,000 compared to the previous year (667,000).
For Bitcoin Group SE, the 2018 financial year showed a two-fold development. In the first six months, the business continued to develop solidly due to the strong tailwind of the cryptocurrency market.
In the second half of 2018, the environment for the entire industry clouded over, which was reflected in declining price notes for major cryptocurrencies. Towards the end of the financial year and beyond, however, there were clear signs of recovery on the markets, leading to significantly higher cryptocurrency prices. This trend supports optimism for the current 2019 financial year.
In order to further diversify the group’s business model, significant milestones were reached…
After the acquisition of futurum Bank GmbH (formerly Tremmel Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH), it is now possible to issue products in connection with cryptocurrencies, carry out proprietary trading in cryptocurrencies and operate ATMs for cryptocurrencies. The introduction of crypto-to-crypto trading on Bitcoin.de in April 2019 offers both customers and companies advantages. The aim is to develop Bitcoin.de into a cryptocurrency exchange with a multilateral approach.
“In the 2018 financial year, we were able to take important steps to become even more independent of the development of cryptocurrency exchange rates in the future. For the current fiscal year 2019, we want to use an optimistic outlook on the cryptocurrency markets to further grow and expand our business model. This includes the launch of the Bitcoin.de app and the installation of the first Bitcoin ATMs. In this way, we will continue to fulfill our claim as an innovation leader in the German-speaking region and increase acceptance and attention for cryptocurrencies.”
Given the sustainable recovery on the cryptocurrency markets and the continuous expansion of the service portfolio, the management is optimistic about the current fiscal year 2019. Bitcoin Group SE expects the number of customers to continue to increase and to reach the 900,000 registered users mark on Bitcoin.de by the end of 2019, which will be accompanied by a sales result that follows on from the success of the second half of 2018. Furthermore, a positive EBITDA is expected.