Bitpanda Gains Investment Firm License in Austria

Austrian-based cryptocurrency exchange, Bitpanda has upgraded its local license, now gaining the status of an investment firm approved by the country’s financial regulator, Finanzmarktaufsicht (FMA).

Monday’s regulatory announcement detailed that the digital currency exchange is now authorized to receive and transmit orders on a commercial basis in relation to financial instruments. Earlier, the crypto exchange was operating with its electronic Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term services (PSD2) license acquired from the Austrian regulator in April 2019.

Founded in 2014, BitPanda is a retail broker for digital assets, including more than 30 Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term. The company claims to have onboarded 1.2 million users and plans to expand into real-world assets to build out a pan-European offering, with the expansion already starting in France, Spain and Turkey.

“We plan to keep on growing in more European countries during this year and, in 2021, bring financial empowerment across borders and secure a new sense of financial culture,” Bitpanda’s Co-founder and CEO, Eric Demuth said earlier.

Strengthening Regulated Services in Europe

Bitpanda gained the new license only a couple of months after registering its services in France with the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Finance Magnates reported earlier. That allowed the company to offer regulated services as a French digital asset service provider (DASP).

Additionally, the startup is well-funded, raising more than $100 million in funds over the years, according to Crunchbase. It secured $52 million before closing its Series A funding round last September, which was led by billionaire Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures.

Meanwhile, the company is expanding its services beyond crypto trading and launched a VISA-enabled cryptocurrency debit card for day-to-day payments.