Bitpanda, a cryptocurrency exchange startup from Austria, has registered in Germany as a crypto custody service and proprietary trading provider. Through its local branch, Bitpanda Asset Management GmbH, the platform can now independently offer its products to German traders and investors.
According to the press release, Bitpanda had been applying for German authorization for months. After successfully finishing the licensing procedure, the cryptocurrency startup is currently licensed in the Czech Republic, Sweden, the UK, Spain, Italy and France.
Multiple licenses in different jurisdictions will better separate customers' funds from the exchange's assets, providing them with greater security, the CEO and Co-Founder of Bitpanda, Eric Bemuth, said in a statement.
Bitpanda is the first fintech unicorn from Austria. The company raised $170 million in March 2021, which pushed its valuation to $1.2 billion. The Series B funding round was led by the venture capital firm, Valar Ventures, founded by Andrew McCormack, Peter Thiel and James Fitzgerald. It was one of the largest amounts of capital raised in the Old Continent.
"Bitpanda will be able to maintain an order book and directly market services for crypto assets, enabling them to provide a secure and regulated environment for German customers to invest in a wide range of cryptocurrencies ," the company said in a press release quoted by CoinDesk.
Crypto Regulations in Europe Getting Closer?
Following the FTX cryptocurrency exchange's collapse, regulators worldwide are taking a closer look at the digital asset industry. Many experts believe this will lead to substantial and restrictive regulation of the entire industry.
The European Union, where Germany is a major member, is getting closer to regulating the niche. The entity has finalized a framework for supervising crypto service providers and issuers who would like to operate in any of the 27 member states.
However, the regulations at the European level will not come into force until 2024. Therefore, individual countries, including Germany or France, are issuing their own regulatory licenses. However, the French are ready to discard the local regulatory system for cryptocurrencies when the European Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) comes into force.
