All eyes are currently on the collapse of FTX in the crypto industry. That’s why today’s news from bit panda is an important signal for the Austrian unicorn company. Bitpanda has received a crypto license from the German financial regulator (BaFin).
Its German subsidiary is now officially allowed to process cryptocurrencies for German customers under its Crypto Custody and Proprietary Trading license. It does not have to rely on passport rules. While there are a large number of crypto licenses across Europe, BaFin’s licensing is quite selective as there are only four companies listed as licensed crypto custody companies in BaFin database.
Coinbase is the other well-known company in the database. It has a similar license, but it’s a US-based company. Bitpanda claims to be the first European retail investment platform to meet these requirements.
In addition to the German license, Bitpanda also has licenses with the Austrian and French financial regulators. Like Bitpanda growing his will white label companythese licenses are important advantages when it comes to establishing partnerships with other European fintech companies.
For example, Lydia has partnered with Bitpanda so that Lydia can offer crypto and stock trading for its clients. Lydia is especially popular in France with over 5.5 million customers.
N26 has also recently launched crypto trading in Austria (as you can see in the image at the top of this article). This is a first step as the German mobile bank aims to expand crypto trading to other markets. I am sure that the fact that Bitpanda has applied for licenses in Germany and France has had an impact on these partnership talks.
“At Bitpanda, we set the highest standards for ourselves and remain absolutely committed to doing things right and doing the right things,” co-founder and CEO Eric Demuth said in a statement. “This principle is firmly embedded in our DNA as a fully regulated investment platform and I believe is critical to the long-term success of our industry. The security of our customers’ digital assets, as well as those of our White Label partners, is our top priority.”
In addition to France, Germany and Austria, Bitpanda has also received regulatory approvals in the Czech Republic, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK. As Coindesk points out, there are plans to standardize regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies at EU level with the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Regulation.
So more regulatory announcements will follow in the future. Although Bitpanda does not name FTX directly, it is clear that the company wants to appear as a responsible company for European investors.
According to FTX’s support portalFTX operated in Europe through K-DNA Financial Services Ltd., an investment firm regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and passported to the European Economic Area.
“We want to offer our clients a safe, secure and easy way to invest. That means being regulated and it means strict separation of customer and business assets, which unfortunately isn’t the case everywhere these days,” said Demuth.
