MiCAR Certificate Program: Compliance and Strategic Market Positioning

The Executive School of EBS University of Business and Law runs a German-language certificate program on the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) together with the law firm Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek (HEUKING). Its three modules cover MiCAR compliance, crypto trading and risk management. The program is for decision-makers and compliance officers who apply MiCAR in their firm and want to plan their market position under it. It teaches the technology, the market and the legal rules of the crypto sector. The next run starts on October 21, 2026 in Frankfurt.

MiCAR has applied in full since December 30, 2024, and the last transitional periods for crypto-asset service providers in the EU ended on July 1, 2026. Staff who inform or advise clients on crypto-assets must be able to prove their knowledge when asked, and a certificate is enough for that. The ESMA guidelines on knowledge and competence of July 2025 set 20 hours of continuing professional development per year for advisers. The program has 24 hours of classroom teaching.

• C-level executives and decision-makers who decide on market position and investments in crypto-assets. They learn how crypto prices move and what crypto-assets mean for the economy.
• Regulatory and compliance officers. They learn the supervisory requirements, governance systems and AML/CFT duties.
• Advisory staff. The 24 hours in class exceed the 20 hours of continuing professional development that ESMA asks of advisers.

Firms that need training for a whole team will find more formats on the page crypto compliance training.

The program covers three fields: the technology (distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrencies, smart contracts), market structures and trading (token issuance, valuation methods, trading platforms with their real fee models) and legal certainty and investor protection (MiCAR compared with MiFID II, risk management and controls against cyber and IT risks).

Module 1: Crypto-asset markets and trading: platforms, processes, regulation

• Digital assets and tokenization in the investment process
• Issuance of crypto-assets
• Custody of digital assets
• Market structures, trading platforms and secondary markets
• How cryptocurrencies work and how they move markets
• Comparison of trading platforms, including real fee models
• Valuation methods for crypto-assets
• Tax effects and costs for clients

Module 2: Legal basis of crypto-assets and crypto-asset services

• Features, functions and risks of the different types of crypto-assets
• Economic weight and spread of crypto-assets
• Legal framework at national, European and international level
• The role of the German Electronic Securities Act (eWpG)
• Supervisory requirements for crypto-asset service providers
• Investor protection under MiCAR compared with MiFID II
• Practical questions of the move to MiCAR

Module 3: Risk management and control systems for crypto-asset service providers under MiCAR

• Market abuse, anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism
• Market structures, trading platforms and secondary markets
• Valuation mechanisms for crypto-assets
• Governance, risk management and internal control systems
• Regulatory documentation, reporting and record-keeping duties, data protection
• Risks in the custody and transfer of crypto-assets

Participants who attend all three modules and pass the online exam receive the certificate "Zertifizierte:r Experte:in für Krypto-Asset-Dienstleistungen (EBS)". The exam takes 135 minutes, 45 minutes per module, with multiple-choice and open questions. It is passed with 75 percent correct answers. The program totals 24 teaching units in class plus about 10 to 12 hours of self-study on the Canvas learning platform.

Academic directors:

• Dr. Dr. Johannes Blassl, attorney, partner and certified specialist for banking and capital markets law, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
• Prof. Dr. Ulrich Segna, Chair of Civil Law, Commercial and Business Law, and the Law of Non-Profit Organizations, EBS University

Lecturers:

• Dr. Felix Bekemeier, Head of Digital Securities / Deputy Director Digital Assets, Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank AG
• Svenja Brinkmann, attorney and senior associate, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
• Christoph Hock, Head of Tokenisation and Digital Assets (PM), Union Asset Management Holding AG
• Benjamin Schaub, Managing Partner, intas.tech GmbH

The program is run by the Executive School of EBS University in cooperation with HEUKING. The Financial Times ranked EBS Executive School third in Germany for open programs in its Executive Education Ranking 2026.

• Program page: Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR): Compliance und strategische Marktpositionierung (in German)
• ESMA: criteria for the knowledge and competence of staff providing information on crypto-assets
• MiCA page of the European Commission
• MiCAR explained and MiCA in Germany on Finance Loop

For English-language content on MiCAR, contact EBS Executive School. Questions about the program go to Dr. André Hollstein, Head of EBS Executive School.

Phone: +49 6723 9168 910