Bitpanda
Austrian cryptocurrency broker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bitpanda GmbH is an Austrian company headquartered in Vienna. Bitpanda provides a cryptocurrency broker, commodities and securities trading, and ETFs via their website and mobile app.[3][4] In 2021, Bitpanda achieved a valuation of over US$4 billion.[5] The company was the first Austrian start-up to meet the criteria for unicorn status.[4] The revenue was $98.66 million in 2022,[6] and increased to $161.81 million the following year.[1]
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fintech |
| Founded | Vienna, 2014 |
| Founders | Eric Demuth Paul Klanschek Christian Trummer |
| Headquarters | Vienna , |
| Key people |
|
| Services | Electronic trading platform |
| Revenue | US$161.81 million[1] |
Number of employees | 730 (2023)[2] |
| Website | www |
History
Founding and Orientation
The company was founded in 2014 by Eric Demuth, Paul Klanschek, and Christian Trummer. In the early days, Bitpanda was a platform on which only cryptocurrencies were traded.[3] Initially, the company operated under the name Coinimal GmbH, while the cryptocurrency trading platform was always known as Bitpanda.[7] From 2017 onwards, vouchers for Bitcoins could be purchased at over 1,800 locations of the Österreichische Post, which could be redeemed on the Bitpanda platform.[8][9] In 2017, 15 employees achieved a net profit of US$12.49 million,[10] and processed transactions with various cryptocurrencies amounting to $672 million.[11] In 2018, the company was renamed Bitpanda GmbH.[12] In 2018, an office was opened in London.
Diversification of Services
In summer 2019, Bitpanda launched a token called Best, which offered a discount on trading fees for payments.[13] In the same year, the company began integrating precious metal trading into its platform.[3] In September 2020, the company raised $58.2 million in an initial funding round. Investors included Peter Thiel's investment firm.[14] In a second investment round, Bitpanda raised a total of $160 million, increasing the company's valuation to $1.2 billion in March 2021. The main investors in this round were Valar Ventures and partners of DST Global. This made the company the first Austrian start-up to meet the criteria for unicorn status.[4]
In early 2021, the company partnered with Visa to introduce a debit card that could be used to pay for goods and services in cryptocurrency or commodities in stores.[15] In April 2021, it received a license for securities trading, allowing investments in fractional shares and ETFs.[3][13] In another round of funding in August 2021, the company raised $263 million, increasing its valuation to more than $4 billion.[16] In this latest round, Valar Ventures, Alan Howard, and Redo Ventures participated again, along with existing investors LeadBlock Partners and Jump Capital.[16]
Cuts, Licensing, and Expansion
Due to overly rapid growth with numerous new hires and the 70% decline in Bitcoin's price,[17] Bitpanda laid off 35% of its workforce on June 24, 2022.[18] In July 2021, the company announced it would open an office in Berlin.[19] By the end of the year, Bitpanda received a crypto license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, which not only allows for the custody of cryptocurrencies but also enables proprietary trading with them.[20]
Since 2023, Bitpanda has been operating a branch in the UK,[21] and began a partnership with Coinbase to provide institutional clients with a regulated trading infrastructure.[22] Additionally, the company invested $10.27 million in artificial intelligence development.[23] Through a collaboration with N26 Bank, Bitpanda's cryptocurrency trading platform was integrated into the N26 app, allowing bank customers to trade over 200 cryptocurrencies via the app.[24] Furthermore, since April 2023, Bitpanda has been partnering with Raiffeisenbank Niederösterreich-Wien, giving customers access to Bitpanda's cryptocurrency trading services through the bank's own platform.[25]
Also since 2023, Deutsche Bank has served as the European bank for Bitpanda's cross-border services in Austria and Spain.[26] In April 2024, Bitpanda announced a collaboration with Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) to enable LBBW corporate clients to custody and procure cryptocurrencies. In early June, Bitpanda expanded its partnership with Deutsche Bank to offer real-time payments for incoming and outgoing transactions.[27]
Corporate structure
Since 2022, the Swiss Bitpanda Group AG has been serving as the parent company of Bitpanda GmbH.[28] In addition to its executives, the company has a supervisory board consisting of three members. Bitpanda GmbH maintains investments and branches in Vienna, Berlin, Milan, Kraków, Bucharest, Amsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, Dublin, and London.[10] In the fiscal year 2023, 730 employees generated a revenue of US$161.81 million.[2][1] Half of the company's workforce consists of programmers, while the remaining employees work in areas such as customer service, key account management, and human resources.[11] By May 2024, Bitpanda GmbH had over 4.5 million customers,[29] 25% of them in Germany.[30] The subsidiary Bitpanda Technology Solutions provides financial institutions with the trading infrastructure developed for cryptocurrencies by Bitpanda.[31] Clients include banks such as N26, Mambu, Lydia, Plum, Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien,[32][33] and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg.[20][34]
Products
Through comprehensive regulatory licenses, Bitpanda GmbH is authorized to trade and custody cryptocurrencies for customers. These licenses extend across the entire European Economic Area.[20] Through the electronic trading system Bitpanda, the company makes trading accessible for over 390 different cryptocurrencies on its website and mobile app, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Solana.[35] In addition to cryptocurrency trading, Bitpanda offers investments in crypto indices,[36] as well as short-term trading in the cryptocurrency market.[37] Furthermore, the company offers trading in precious metals such as gold and silver, as well as stocks and ETFs.[3][13] Bitpanda also provides a debit card in collaboration with Visa, for payments with cryptocurrencies, precious metals, and fiat currency.[15] Additionally, the company operates the educational platform Bitpanda Academy.[4]
Sponsoring
In 2021, Bitpanda became the official global partner of the Davis Cup in men's tennis. At the beginning of 2022, the company formed a partnership with the Italian Rugby Federation, becoming the main and jersey sponsor of the Italy national rugby union team. Additionally, Bitpanda became a premium sponsor of the World Padel Tour, a sport derived from tennis.[10] Since January 2024, there has been a strategic partnership as a crypto partner with FC Bayern Munich.[38] At the start of the 2024 season, a partnership with the NFL commenced.[39] In August 2024, Bitpanda became a sponsor of AC Milan.[40] In January 2025, Eric Demuth, Bitpanda's founder and CEO donated €1.75 million to German political parties CDU/CSU, FDP, and SPD.[41]
Awards
- 2019: Entrepreneur of the Year Award, awarded by Ernst & Young (E&Y).[42]
- 2021: Promoting-the-Best-Awards in the category of Best Legal Department, awarded by the Austrian digitalization platform Future Law in cooperation with the Association of Austrian Corporate Lawyers (VUJ).[43]