The Austrian trading provider Bitpanda grabs the wanderlust. With a new office in Berlin, the “Einhorn” is setting the course for further growth.
Gradually the premises in Vienna are becoming tight for Bitpanda. The neo-broker, which after the latest financing round was the first Austrian start-up ever to have a company valuation of over a billion US dollars and to be crowned with the unicorn title, has long since grown out of the shoes of a small business. Over 400 employees are no longer just in the Austrian capital. In addition to Madrid, the broker also has a tech hub in Krakow. As a fourth pillar, the company has chosen Berlin, where it meets a lively fintech scene.
Bitpanda packs the moving boxes
With up to 100 new employees, the headquarters in Berlin should not just become a branch, but a strategic hub from which the company intends to conquer the hotly contested German market. The timing seems to be well chosen: Trading apps are enjoying increasing popularity. The number of small investors in the stock and crypto markets has risen steadily during the pandemic. Bitpanda has hit the right nerve at the right time with its extensive range of over 100 cryptocurrencies, crypto indices, precious metals, stocks and ETFs.
This explains why over 2.5 million users already trust the app services. The success seems to have surprised even the founders – in 2019 it still looked like they wanted to concentrate on Austria for the time being:
We started in Austria at a time when it didn’t matter where you start a crypto business. That has developed well so far. We stay in Austria now. We have built a new office there, with an area of almost 3,000 square meters. So definitely an investment in the future.
CEO Eric Demuth at the time to BTC-ECHO.
BMF fun brake
A lot has happened since then, and Bitpanda is now one of the most famous Bitcoin exchanges in German-speaking countries. With services such as dollar cost averaging and tokenized shares, the Austrians have become a driving force in crypto adoption in the DA-CH region and have made their contribution to the democratization of the financial markets.
Nevertheless, there are also great challenges waiting for the trading provider. Published a few weeks ago by the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) Draft for the cryptocurrency transfer ordinance will impose strict duties of care on crypto service providers in the future. This applies above all to the collection and storage of data when transferring cryptocurrencies. Patrick Hansen, division manager for blockchain at the digital association Bitkom, already spoke to BTC-ECHO of a “great business risk for German crypto value service providers”. How adaptable Bitpanda will react to the new requirements remains to be seen. Bitpanda had not yet responded to a corresponding request at the time of going to press.
In our guide, we have taken a detailed look at Bitpanda’s offerings. You can find the test and experience report here.