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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Bitcoin.de 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5

On this page
  1. What the authenticator app replaces
  2. Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
  3. Save the key: it's your backup
  4. If Bitcoin.de rejects your code
  5. Changing phones
  6. If you lose your authenticator
  7. Turning 2FA off
  8. Official Bitcoin.de help

Bitcoin.de is the German peer-to-peer marketplace for trading bitcoin and other crypto against euros. By default, it emails you a one-time LoginTAN after your username and password. You can swap that for an authenticator app, a printable password table or a YubiKey (Bitcoin.de). None of them is required.

Know this before you start: Bitcoin.de has no backup codes and shows your secret key only once. Without that key, getting back in after losing your phone means a test transfer from your bank account. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Bitcoin.de steps come from Bitcoin.de's own FAQ pages, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. Bitcoin.de blocked our requests with a message that it can't offer its service in our country, so we read archived copies of those pages on web.archive.org, saved between July 2025 and April 2026. We haven't tested the steps on a Bitcoin.de account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

What the authenticator app replaces

Once it's on, you type a code from the app every time you sign in, in place of the emailed LoginTAN. It also replaces the SMS mTAN that otherwise confirms payouts (Bitcoin.de). Bitcoin.de calls the method Google-OTP, but any app that follows the RFC 6238 standard works, Novaz included.

Only one method can be active at a time. To switch, turn off the current one first (Bitcoin.de).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Bitcoin.de's FAQ describes these steps (Bitcoin.de):

  1. Sign in on bitcoin.de and go to my Bitcoin.de > Settings > 2-factor authentication. In German: mein Bitcoin.de > Einstellungen > 2-Faktor-Authentifizierung. Capitalization varies between pages.
  2. Pick the authenticator app method, which Bitcoin.de calls Google-OTP. A QR code appears to the right of the form.
  3. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. On the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo (how).
  4. Write down the key shown with the QR code, which Bitcoin.de calls the Secret Shared Key (or Code / Key). Keep it on paper or in a password manager.
  5. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into the form and confirm.

If you can't scan the QR code, tap + in Novaz, then Enter key manually, and type the Secret Shared Key as the Setup key. Bitcoin.de's codes are 6 digits every 30 seconds, which a typed key supports. See What is a 2FA setup key?

Save the key: it's your backup

Bitcoin.de's FAQ doesn't mention backup or recovery codes. With the saved key or QR code, you can set up the codes again on a new phone or a reinstalled app at any time (Bitcoin.de).

You can't fetch it later: "There is no option to display the QR code or secret shared key again" (Bitcoin.de). If you skipped it, turn 2FA off while your codes still work, turn it back on, and save the new key.

Novaz can back up its keys with iCloud backup or a backup file, but without one they exist only on your iPhone, so keep the saved key as well. Guard it like backup codes: anyone who has it can make your codes.

If Bitcoin.de rejects your code

Bitcoin.de names two causes: your phone's clock is wrong, or the app no longer holds the right Secret Shared Key, for example after a reset (Bitcoin.de).

Check the clock first: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when it's 15 seconds or more off. If that doesn't help, use Bitcoin.de's contact form and it will check your key. More in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

With the saved key, tap +, then Enter key manually on the new iPhone. Any account name works (Bitcoin.de). Without it, turn 2FA off and on again while the old phone still makes codes, scanning the new QR code on the new phone. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can also just restore your accounts on the new iPhone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

  • You saved the key or QR code: add it to an authenticator app and sign in as usual (Bitcoin.de).
  • You didn't: sign in with your username and password. The next page should offer to turn off 2FA, but first you must prove the request with a test transfer from your verified bank account (Bitcoin.de). Stuck? Use the contact form.

The FAQ doesn't say how long this takes or how much to send. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

In my Bitcoin.de > Settings > 2-factor authentication, turn off the active method with a valid code (Bitcoin.de). Then open the account in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official Bitcoin.de help

More guides: Crypto exchanges and wallets