BOTS Capital discontinues direct crypto services and shifts to multi-asset funds

BOTS Capital, the Haarlem-based fintech startup that offers automated investment strategies to retail clients, is discontinuing its direct crypto services. On 10 June 2026, the company announced a strategic partnership with Finst, allowing customers who wish to continue investing directly in crypto to transfer their account to that platform free of charge.

BOTS Capital will now focus entirely on three diversified multi-asset investment funds that the company had already introduced in its own app around 1 May 2026. The strategic shift is partly driven by the accelerating consolidation in the European crypto market following the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), which came fully into force on 30 December 2024.

BOTS Capital was founded in 2017 by Michiel Stokman, Colin Groos and Stefan Bijen, and raised $29.5 million in a Series A round from Airbridge Equity Partners in September 2021. The company reports more than 100,000 verified customers.

Crypto subsidiary closed, funds as new direction

The direct crypto services were operated through Holland Crypto B.V., a subsidiary of parent company CMS Beheer BV. That entity had already closed its doors to new customers on 1 January 2026 while awaiting a MiCAR licence. With the 10 June announcement, BOTS Capital makes clear it will no longer pursue that licensing process and is definitively winding down its crypto services.

Instead, the company is betting on the BOTS Selection Framework, a proprietary methodology that uses AI and big data to identify investment opportunities across multiple asset classes worldwide. The three new multi-asset funds are managed by Elite Fund Management B.V. and operate under an AIFMD licence. They are supervised by the AFM and DNB. BOTS Capital had already held a DNB licence, which it received in 2022.

Customers can switch to Finst with a single click

Existing BOTS customers who wish to retain direct exposure to crypto are being referred to Finst. The migration is free of charge and, according to the announcement, can be completed with a single click.

Finst received a MiCA licence from the AFM on 24 July 2025 and offers access to more than 340 crypto assets at trading fees of 0.15 percent. In 2024, Finst had already acquired competitor Anycoin Direct, giving it a broader customer base and infrastructure. For BOTS Capital, the partnership means it can offer departing crypto customers a regulated alternative without losing them entirely.

MiCAR as an accelerator of market consolidation

BOTS Capital's move fits a pattern that has been emerging in the European crypto market since the introduction of MiCAR. Smaller providers that lack the resources or scale to meet the full licensing requirements are increasingly opting for a merger, acquisition, or, as in BOTS Capital's case, a strategic pivot to a different product type.

MiCAR imposes uniform requirements on crypto service providers within the EU with regard to capital requirements, safeguarding of client assets and transparency. For fintechs that previously operated under national supervision, such as through the DNB registration BOTS Capital already held, the European regulation brings considerably heavier compliance obligations.

For the Dutch and broader European AI and fintech scene, BOTS Capital's move illustrates how regulation forces companies to make choices about their core activities. Fund management under AIFMD is a proven and well-established model; direct crypto services require an entirely new licensing trajectory under MiCAR. BOTS Capital's decision to opt for the former and transfer its crypto customers to a specialised party shows how regulation is reshaping the division of responsibilities within the ecosystem. Investors and founders in similar niches will face this trade-off more frequently in the years ahead.