Januar

Januar is a Copenhagen-based financial infrastructure company built specifically for crypto businesses. Founded in 2021, it operates as a regulated Payment Institute licensed by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA), giving it the legal standing to provide banking-adjacent services to crypto-native companies across all 30 markets of the European Economic Area. Its core premise is straightforward: crypto businesses deserve the same quality of financial tooling as any traditional enterprise, but have historically been denied access to reliable banking infrastructure. Januar was designed to close that gap.

The Problem It Solves

For most of the crypto industry's existence, legitimate businesses—exchanges, DeFi protocols, NFT platforms, blockchain developers, payment processors—have struggled to obtain basic financial services. Traditional banks routinely reject or close accounts for companies with crypto exposure, citing unclear regulatory risk. The collapse of crypto-friendly US banks Silvergate and Signature in 2023 underscored the fragility of the workarounds the industry had built. Januar's approach is to build the regulated infrastructure natively, rather than try to convince legacy institutions to accommodate crypto.

Regulatory Foundation

Januar holds two complementary licenses that together cover the full scope of its product offering. Its Payment Institution license under PSD2, granted by the DFSA in April 2023, makes it one of the first crypto-focused companies to achieve that status in Europe and enables it to offer payment accounts and execute payment transactions. Its CASP (Crypto Asset Service Provider) license under MiCA covers the custody and exchange of digital assets. Together, these licenses allow Januar to passport its services across the EEA and operate under the same regulatory framework that governs mainstream payment institutions.

This dual-license structure is central to Januar's value proposition. The company actively publishes guidance on how its clients should navigate the interaction between MiCA and PSD2 obligations—a practical differentiator at a time when European crypto regulation is still being interpreted and implemented.

Products

IBAN Accounts are Januar's flagship offering for crypto companies. Businesses receive named IBAN accounts in EUR or USD, with German, Danish, Luxembourg, or UK IBANs available. The accounts support SEPA payment rails for inbound and outbound transfers and integrate directly with crypto conversion, letting companies move between fiat and digital assets without switching providers.

Embedded Accounts is a white-label version of the same infrastructure. Platforms that want to offer dedicated IBANs to their own users can integrate Januar's accounts layer through its API and present it under their own brand. This targets exchanges, wallets, and crypto-native neobanks that need regulated fiat rails embedded into their product.

Crypto Trade and Custody provides integrated access to buying and selling digital assets with instant quotes, alongside institutional-grade custody. Custody uses multi-party computation (MPC) technology: client assets are protected such that no single employee has unilateral access. This is a meaningful security design choice that aligns with how professional custodians at the institutional end of the market operate.

Supported Assets

Januar's API supports eight asset types: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin via Lightning Network (BTC_LN), Ethereum (ETH), USDC, EURC, USDT, Tron (TRX), and Solana (SOL). SOL is treated as a first-class supported asset with full nine-decimal-place precision. This means businesses building on Solana—whether they hold SOL on their balance sheet, need to convert SOL to EUR for operational expenses, or want to offer SOL custody to customers—can use Januar for the regulated fiat and custody layer without having to route through an unsupported workaround.

EURC, Circle's euro-pegged stablecoin, is also supported. EURC has a native Solana deployment and is growing in European crypto payment workflows, making Januar a natural fit for Solana-based businesses operating in Europe.

API and Technical Architecture

Januar provides a REST API with HMAC-SHA256 authentication, giving programmatic access to all core functionality. The API is organized into four service domains: account management (balances, transactions, SEPA payouts), counterparty verification (using the European Payments Council's Verification of Payee scheme to validate beneficiary details before sending), cryptocurrency services (wallet management, withdrawal addresses, Lightning Network transfers), and webhook and email notifications for operational events.

An EMT (Enterprise Money Transfer) wallet feature supports deposit address management with automatic fund sweeping, simplifying treasury operations for businesses managing high transaction volumes. The API operates across separate UAT and production environments, allowing integration and testing before going live.

Funding and Investors

Januar raised a seed round of €6 million, with a €1.5 million extension closed in 2024. ByFounders, a Nordic venture capital firm, is among its investors. The firm cited the team's founder-market fit as a central reason for backing Januar, noting that the founders bring compliance expertise developed inside the crypto industry itself rather than inherited from traditional finance.

Team

Simon Ousager (Founder and Chief Strategy Officer) was an early employee at Chainalysis, the blockchain analytics firm. He developed deep expertise in cryptocurrency forensics and compliance, trained European financial regulators, and worked with major exchanges and law enforcement—a background that directly informs Januar's risk management capabilities and regulatory relationships.

Rasmus Bjerregaard (CEO) brings an ex-banking background and operational experience building high-output organizations.

Marcus Mølleskov (Chief Risk and Compliance Officer) is a former banker with AI and data analytics experience, and has positioned himself as a thought leader on crypto regulatory innovation.

Jimmie Jensen (CTO) is an infrastructure engineer with fintech and payments specialization.

The company describes its team as a mix of crypto specialists, former bankers, and technology engineers—a composition that reflects its position at the intersection of regulated finance and crypto infrastructure.

Solana Relevance

Januar's relevance to the Solana ecosystem sits primarily at the infrastructure layer. SOL is a natively supported asset for custody, trade, and API operations. Solana-based businesses—protocols, exchanges, or fintech companies building on Solana—that need regulated European fiat rails, IBAN accounts, or institutional custody can access those services through Januar without needing to integrate a separate, non-crypto-native provider. EURC support extends this relevance, since EURC is native to Solana and increasingly used in European payment workflows.

As Solana adoption grows among European crypto businesses and institutions, demand for regulated fiat on- and off-ramp infrastructure that explicitly supports SOL becomes more significant. Januar is one of the few regulated EU payment institutions that includes SOL in its supported asset set alongside BTC and ETH.

Current Focus

Januar's recent content concentrates on MiCA compliance, particularly EMT (Electronic Money Token) regulation and the interaction between PSD2 and MiCA for businesses handling stablecoins. This reflects the practical compliance needs of its client base as European crypto regulation matures. The company's positioning has shifted from building awareness of the banking problem to helping clients understand their specific obligations under the new framework—a sign of a maturing customer base and a more established regulatory environment.