N26, the German neobank with headquarters in Berlin, has expanded its recently introduced cryptocurrency trading product to five more European countries. N26 Crypto is now available for traders from Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Switzerland.
N26 Crypto Opens for New Markets
Challenger bank unveiled a new service giving access to trading on more than 200 digital assets for the first time in October 2022. Initially, it was reserved only for investors from Austria, but the company promised to implement more countries in the near future. After three months, it fulfilled the pledge and allowed consumers from five more jurisdictions to access its crypto product.
N26 reminds its clients that N26 Crypto may not be available to everyone right away. The product has been phased in since 17 January 2023, with full integration expected to be completed within weeks.
"The N26 banking experience has always been built around the customers' needs, with features that make money management easy. With N26 Crypto we have created a simple, intuitive product that integrates seamlessly into N26's fully-regulated banking experience where one's bank balance, savings, and investment portfolio sit side by side โ with cryptocurrencies being the first asset class we intend to offer," Gilles BianRosa, the Chief Product Officer at N26, commented in the press release.
According to the statement, N26 Crypto offers one of the widest selections of cryptocurrency assets among competing banking applications. The product was developed in cooperation with Bitpanda Asset Management GmbH, which recently launched in Austria and is responsible for trades execution and custodian services.
N26 Crypto charges a 1.5% commission on Bitcoin transactions and 2.5% on other cryptocurrencies. N26 Metal customers can expect commissions reduced to 1% and 2%, respectively.
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10 Years of N26 Expansion
N26 was founded as a mobile bank in 2013 by Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal. After launching the initial product in early 2015, the company was able to obtain eight million customers in more than twenty different markets.
Currently, N26 employs 1,500 people working from 10 locations. Although most are located in Europe (Amsterdam, Berlin or Madrid), neobank leads overseas branches in New York and Sรฃo Paulo.
N26 has raised $1.8 billion from popular venture capital firms, including Third Point Ventures and Coatue Management LLC. The company is valued at more than $9 billion.
N26 Came Late for the Crypto Game?
While N26 claims to have one of the broadest cryptocurrency offerings among its competitors, it is undoubtedly a latecomer to the digital assets space. Companies such as Revolut and PayPal completed their cryptocurrency offerings long ago. Even more traditional payment companies, such as Visa and Mastercard have actively engaged in the Web3 industry.
However, the timing of the entry might be more than punctual. Cryptocurrencies seem to have put a very weak 2022 behind them and are entering 2023 with a more pronounced rebound. Bitcoin is up more than 25% in three weeks, and the capitalization of the entire ecosystem is back above the $1 billion mark.