Germany’s Largest Federal Bank To Offer Crypto Custody to Institutional Clients: Report

April 15, 2024 The Daily Hodl

Raiffeisenlandesbank to launch Bitcoin trading in early 2024

November 24, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Austria

Raiffeisen Bank’s RLB NÖ-Wien is preparing to introduce cryptocurrency trading services to its retail clients in early 2024.

The Austrian subsidiary of European lender Raiffeisen Bank is preparing to allow its clients to trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) in the coming months.

After initially announcing its crypto plans in April 2023, Raiffeisen Bank’s Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien (RLB NÖ-Wien) is moving forward with a crypto rollout in collaboration with the Austrian crypto firm Bitpanda.

RLB NÖ-Wien expects to start rolling out crypto trading services in Vienna in the first quarter of 2024, a spokesperson for the bank told Cointelegraph.

“Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien has signed a cooperation agreement with Bitpanda. Via this cooperation, we plan to offer an attractive digital investment platform early in 2024,” the representative stated, adding:

“We have seen the demand from customers for easy, intuitive, digital investment platforms. Our main intention to take customer-centric decisions has triggered these efforts, which we are excited about bringing to market.”

With the crypto rollout, RLB NÖ-Wien users will gain access to all cryptocurrencies provided by the bank’s partner Bitpanda, the spokesperson said.

Bitpanda Deputy CEO Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad previously told Cointelegraph that Raiffeisen’s crypto offering would support the full range of Bitpanda’s digital asset offerings, which feature more than 2,500 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether (ETH). The exec also said Raiffeisen was willing to make the crypto trading service available to all customer segments, including retail, private banking and corporate customers.

“As we announced in April, the end goal is to make our offer available to all RLB NÖ-Wien customers. However, the rollout will begin with their customers in Vienna,” a spokesperson for Bitpanda noted.

Raiffeisen’s move into crypto is another sign of Bitcoin’s growing adoption, with companies like Ferrari starting to accept cryptocurrency as payment in October 2023. Raiffeisen Bank is one of the oldest banks in Europe, with the first Raiffeisen bank launching in Austria’s Mühldorf in 1886. As of 30 June 2023, the Raiffeisen Group had 247 billion Swiss francs ($280 billion) in assets under management and 219 billion CHF ($248 billion) in client loans.

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Bitpanda crypto exchange gets license in Norway amid European expansion bid

October 19, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitpanda

Bitpanda already holds a license in Austria, Germany, France, Czechia and Sweden.

One of the largest European crypto exchanges, Vienna-based Bitpanda has become one of the first foreign entities to receive a virtual assert service provider license in Norway. The announcement came on the company’s official X (former Twitter) account on Oct. 19.

Bitpanda holds a license in a number of European jurisdictions, such as Austria, Germany, France, Czechia and Sweden. According to the deputy CEO of Bitpanda, Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, the registration marks another step in the company’s expansion in Europe:

“It is obvious that we in Europe need an investment platform that we can trust. At Bitpanda, we have set out to be that platform. Over the last 12 months, we have been the only European provider to receive licenses in Germany, Sweden and Norway. We now have more than 4 million users and enable Europe’s leading financial institutions and neobanks to offer digital assets.”

In May 2023, Norway, which remains outside the European Union, signaled that it could go its own way on crypto asset regulation. In its annual report, the central bank of the country stated that the upcoming pan-EU Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation “may not be adequate to all crypto regulatory needs.”

Meanwhile, some major crypto exchanges continue to struggle with European regulators. In September, New York-headquartered Gemini decided to quit the Netherlands, citing the inability to meet regulators’ requirements. The problems don’t end within the European Union’s jurisdiction. The United Kingdom’s financial markets regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, recently added 143 new entities to the warning list of non-registered asset providers.

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Bitcoin at banks: Raiffeisenlandesbank to offer crypto investment services

April 26, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Banks

All segments of RLB NÖ-Wien clients will be able to invest in a broad number of cryptocurrencies with a budget of as little as one euro.

Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien (RLB NÖ-Wien), an Austrian cooperative banking company founded in 1900, is preparing to launch crypto investment services in collaboration with the Austrian crypto firm Bitpanda.

According to a joint announcement on April 26, RLB NÖ-Wien plans to provide its customers with a broad range of cryptocurrencies through Bitpanda’s Software as a service (SaaS) offering. Crypto investment will be featured alongside investment services for stocks, exchange-traded funds, precious metals and commodities.

“The deal with Bitpanda aims to expand our product range with an innovative, secure facet and enable all customers to easily accumulate wealth,” RLB NÖ-Wien CEO Michael Höllerer said.

A part of the major Austrian banking group, Raiffeisen Bank International, is moving into cryptocurrency investment with a new planned offering.

*Bitpanda co-founder and CEO Eric Demuth (left) and RLB NÖ-Wien CEO Michael Höllerer (right). Source: Bitpanda*

The new offer aims to allow RLB NÖ-Wien customers to invest in various assets regardless of the amount of available capital, enabling investments from as little as one euro.

Bitpanda Deputy CEO Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad told Cointelegraph that RLB NÖ-Wien wants to make the new trading option available to all customer segments, including retail, private banking and corporate customers of RLB NÖ-Wien. He also said that both RLB NÖ-Wien and Bitpanda are committed to making crypto trading available as soon as possible, adding:

“Thanks to the way we have built Bitpanda Technology Solutions we are able to integrate our infrastructure quickly and safely, and plan to make trading available by the end of the year.”

Enzersdorfer-Konrad also noted that RLB NÖ-Wien’s upcoming new offering will feature the full range of Bitpanda’s digital asset offering, which includes over 2,500 assets, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

RLB NÖ-Wien is a part of the Austrian Raiffeisen Bankengruppe grouping of independent cooperative banks, owning a 22.6% stake in Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI).

As previously reported, RBI has been experimenting with digital currency development. In 2020, the global Raiffeisen bank was building a platform for the national currency tokenization using blockchain technology. The bank is also known for participating in trade finance pilots involving R3’s Marco Polo blockchain network.

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Major Crypto Exchange To List Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Competitor That’s Surged Over 300% Year-to-Date

March 17, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Austrian Crypto Exchange Bitpanda Secures Trading License From Germany’s BaFin

November 23, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Bitpanda secures crypto licence in Germany, claims to be the first “European retail” crypto investment platform to do so

November 22, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitpanda

The other licensees included three European institutional investment platforms and one U.S.-based retail platform.

In an official blog post, Bitpanda announced that it has secured a crypto custody licence from the German financial authority, BaFin.

Having obtained this licence, the Austrian-based crypto exchange can now legally market its services to residents of Germany. Bitpanda also claimed to be the first retail crypto exchange based out of Europe to have achieved this distinction.

The collapse of the FTX crypto exchange has brought increased scrutiny to unregulated crypto exchanges that operate outside of a country’s jurisdiction. For this reason, many exchanges are seeking to gain licences in multiple countries to prove that they are legitimate. This latest licence adds to the list of countries Bitpanda is officially regulated in, including Austria, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, and France.

Previously, the license has been obtained by four other crypto-related firms: Coinbase, Kapilendo, Tangany, and Upvest. The latter three cater to institutional investors. While U.S.-based Coinbase is a retail investment platform. Bitpanda claims to be the first “European” retail crypto platform to get the licence because it is based in Austria.

Bitpanda CEO Eric Demuth told Cointelegraph that this licence “was the result of many months of hard work by the entire Bitpanda team.” He stated that the company can now prove that it is an honest and trustworthy custodian of crypto assets for German customers:

“We can and will prove that we mean business when it comes to Bitpanda making customer safety our top priority. […] Acquiring licenses may be difficult in itself, but we are absolutely committed to continuing on this path - because it is the only right thing to do.”

The issue of how to licence and regulate crypto exchanges has been a hot topic since the collapse of FTX. The Bank of England Deputy Governor, Jon Cunliffe, has revealed that the BoE intends to create a “regulatory sandbox” to explore ways to regulate exchanges effectively, and the U.S. Senate has launched a hearing to consider how to effectively regulate crypto exchanges.

Bitpanda's Eric Demuth originally provided comments in German to Cointelegraph’s Veronika Rinecker, whic were previously published in a German-language article discussing this topic.

Opensea Cuts 20% of the NFT Market’s Staff, Citing ‘Crypto Winter’ and ‘Macroeconomic Instability’

July 15, 2022 Bitcoin.com

June roundup: who’s hiring and who’s firing in the crypto space

July 1, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitpanda

Binance, Ripple, and Kraken are hiring, while Coinbase, Gemini, and Crypto.com have announced staff cuts.

Amid the recent volatility in the crypto market affecting investments and stock prices, many firms made significant staff cuts in the last month while others continued hiring.

In June, major crypto exchange Gemini was among the first to reportedly cut 10% of its employees amid the bear market, saying conditions were “likely to persist for some time.” Coinbase and Crypto.com followed, announcing plans to reduce staff by 18% and 5%, respectively. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also cited the so-called crypto winter as part of the reason for the cuts, but also stated the firm had been growing “too quickly.”

Market conditions largely have not changed following many decisions to downsize, and other firms have been forced to make cuts. Crypto lending firm BlockFi announced it would be reducing staff by roughly 20% on June 13, and Cointelegraph reported on Thursday that FTX was in the process of finalizing a deal to purchase the platform’s remaining assets for $25 million. BlockFi CEO Zac Prince denied reports of the sale.

Lots of market rumors out there - I can 100% confirm that we aren’t being sold for $25M.

I encourage everyone to trust only details that you hear directly from @BlockFi.

We will share more w you as soon as we can.
— Zac Prince (@BlockFiZac) June 30, 2022

Austrian crypto and stock trading platform Bitpanda announced on June 24 a mass layoff as it aims to “get out of it financially healthy” amid the current bear market, bringing the company to a “size of about 730 people.” At the time of publication, the crypto firm has no current job openings on its website.

However, many companies in the crypto space are continuing to operate as normal, seemingly prepared to weather the storm — at least one is even picking up the slack. Cointelegraph reported that the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority was open to hiring terminated employees from crypto firms in an effort to “bulk up” its capabilities.

Globally, Binance and Ripple offered thousands of jobs to replace the ones that were recently dissolved from major crypto exchanges and firms. Kraken also stood out as one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges announcing plans to continue hiring for more than 500 roles in various departments amid the market downturn. Sergey Vasylchuk, CEO of Ukraine-based decentralized staking provider Everstake, announced on June 15 that the firm was “not firing anybody.”

According to data gathered by blockchain jobs site Crypto Jobs List, companies have listed more than 3,000 jobs related to the crypto space in the United States in the last seven days — roughly 37% of all jobs posted in the last 30 days. The United Kingdom and India similarly saw a large number of crypto jobs advertised in the last seven days — 562 and 183, respectively — suggesting the industry still has room for staff.

“Kraken and Binance have shown that they plan to stay around for a long time by looking to grow their headcount during a bear market,” a spokesperson for Crypto Jobs List told Cointelegraph. “The market downturn has meant that individuals who don’t plan to stick around for long are deterred, and only serious candidates that are interested in a long-term career are left to apply, and hiring managers recognise this.”

It was not easy saying no to Super bowl ads, stadium naming rights, large sponsor deals a few months ago, but we did.

Today, we are hiring for 2000 open positions for #Binance. pic.twitter.com/n24nrUik8O
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) June 15, 2022

At the time of publication, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is under $20,000, having fallen more than 37% in the last 30 days according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro.

Bitpanda announces layoffs citing no compromise on product quality

June 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitpanda

Witnessing the crypto crashes over the past several weeks from a front-row seat, Bitpanda made the “tough decision” of cutting down its employee headcount to roughly 730 people.

Austrian crypto and stock trading platform Bitpanda joins the growing list of companies to announce a mass layoff as it aims to “get out of it financially healthy” amid an unforgiving bear market.

Over the past several weeks, the bear market resulted in numerous catastrophic outcomes for many ecosystems such as Terra’s (LUNA) and Abracadabra’s Magic Internet Money (MIM) de-pegging fiasco. Witnessing the crashes from a front-row seat, Bitpanda made the “tough decision” of cutting down its employee headcount to roughly 730 people.

While the exact number of employees intimated to stop working for Bitpanda remains undisclosed, data from LinkedIn indicates that the company is in the process of laying off approximately 277 full-time and part-time employees.

In the announcement, named ‘The Way Forward,’ Bitpanda supported the move to cut down employees by highlighting the need to be “robustly well-capitalized” amid uncertain market conditions, stating:

“It is a tough, but necessary decision and we are confident that the new organizational design will help us be more focused, effective and stronger as a company.”

The company is offering itex-employees support packages which include mental health support, references and an employee assistance program (EAP). Speaking about its hypergrowth phase, a timeline when the crypto market breached the $2 trillion market capitalization, Bitpanda revealed problems with internal processes and infrastructure to successfully onboard new joiners:

“We reached a point where more people joining didn’t make us more effective, but created coordination overheads instead, particularly in this new market reality. Looking back now, we realize that our hiring speed was not sustainable. That was a mistake.”

Bitpanda has not yet responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Joining the mass reorganization drive to better suit the bear market, American crypto trading firm Coinbase announced the closure of its Coinbase Pro services.

As Cointelegraph reported, Coinbase Pro’s services will gradually migrate to Advanced Trade, Coinbase’s new trading section accessible via the exchange’s website — over the next several months.

Bitpanda

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