The Cake DeFi project was the subject of talk in January due to investigations by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). Now founder Julian Hosp wants to “proactively” find a solution.
When the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) publishes notices about crypto projects in Germany, alarm sirens go off. That’s because BaFin usually then warns citizens not to do business with very specific platforms or projects. In January, it had hit Cake DeFi. Bafin wrote that Cake DeFi was active in Germany without authorization and started an investigation. Julian Hosp, the founder of Cake DeFi, who is often harshly criticized anyway, rejected BaFin’s accusations at the time and referred to the company’s headquarters in Singapore. But in the meantime, Julian Hosp has apparently partially rethought and can be quoted via press release with a “proactive” approach.
Accordingly, Cake DeFi is changing two details with regard to its services in Germany and the EU. Since February 9, 2022, Cake DeFi has already shut down the German-language version of its website, following the example of Binance, Kraken and other large crypto companies. This actually seems to be a common strategy at the moment to pre-empt possible complaints from BaFin. As a second measure in response to BaFin, Cake DeFi assures to now apply for a crypto license in the EU. Such a license will give German and European customers the assurance “that Cake DeFi is a reliable, trustworthy and transparent platform,” CEO and founder Julian Hosp said, according to the statement. However, the text leaves open in which EU country Cake DeFi intends to pursue the licensing route.
Hosp also can’t resist talking about an “ambiguous communication” and “inaccurate speculations (…) in the net public” with regard to BaFin. We have been reporting continuously for a long time about the facets of Julian Hosp, about his questionable past and the pyramid scheme Lyoness as well as his about his activities and departure from TenX. In fairness, we would also like to remind you that Julian Hosp later helped us with critical research on TenX and investor money there, and plays a key role as a prosecution witness in the recent revelation story on the DAO hack of 2016.
Conclusion: Opinions differ on Julian Hosp and Cake DeFi
For many in the crypto scene, Julian Hosp is a red rag and thus his projects automatically come under suspicion. This is absolutely understandable due to financial losses often suffered by investors. On the other hand, Julian Hosp is a veteran of the German-language crypto scene and has recently regained reputation by helping with critical journalistic research. His strategy in dealing with BaFin and crypto licensing is not unusual and follows the example of other companies. Whether BaFin overshot the mark with its warning notice on Cake DeFi in January cannot be clearly answered at this point. From experience, we remain quite skeptical about Cake DeFi and Julian Hosp.
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