How Januar solves debanking and licensing challenges for crypto SMEs

In this episode of Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll, we dive deep into one of the least discussed but most existential challenges for Europe’s crypto industry: the ongoing debanking of crypto SMEs — and the emerging regulatory twist that could upend the market again in 2026.

Host Michael Blaschke is joined by Stefan and Marcus Mølleskov, Chief Risk & Compliance Officer and Co-Founder of Januar, a Danish payment institution built to solve exactly this problem. Marcus shares his unusual journey from quantitative finance into crypto compliance and explains how a chance encounter with the early Chainalysis team shaped Januar’s founding vision: bringing trust, transparency, and proper financial infrastructure to an industry long treated as “too risky” by banks.

We explore why crypto companies across Europe still struggle to open something as simple as a corporate bank account — and how Januar created a full-stack payment and custody platform that bridges traditional finance with digital assets. Marcus also unpacks a regulatory curveball few CASPs have fully grasped: according to recent EBA guidance, from March 1, 2026, stablecoins legally qualify as funds. This means any CASP offering stablecoin services must hold a PSD2 license or work with a partner who has one — or face fines. Overnight, Januar’s dual licensing path turned into a critical lifeline for the industry.

Looking ahead, Marcus explains why stablecoins, not speculation, will drive the next evolution of blockchain: enabling instant global settlement, powering tokenized financial assets, and reducing trillions locked in traditional settlement rails. Instead of issuing yet another stablecoin, Januar is positioning itself as the integration layer connecting Europe’s rapidly fragmenting stablecoin landscape.

If you want to understand the real bottlenecks for crypto adoption in Europe — and how regulation, payments infrastructure, and tokenization are converging — this episode is for you.

Marcus Mølleskov, CRCO at Januar, on LinkedIn
Michael Blaschke on LinkedIn
Stefan Grassman on LinkedIn
Januar’s thinking and resources
Recent BFRR News Episode ‘Stablecoins Everywhere - While European Parliament Rethinks the Digital Euro | News’
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