Bitpanda bets on banks, tokenization to expand globally ahead of IPO plans

Vienna, Austria-based crypto broker Bitpanda is leaning into a strategy it has been quietly building for years: keep its retail business anchored in Europe while expanding globally by supplying crypto infrastructure to banks and financial firms.

The company’s next phase of growth will focus less on raw user numbers and more on geographic reach, Vishal Sacheendran, vice president of global markets strategy and operations, told CoinDesk in an interview.

“It’s about having a footprint in more markets,” Sacheendran said.

That expansion is building on its steady growth. The company, which boasts more than 7 million users, reported this week €371 million ($430 million) in adjusted revenue for 2025, up 16% from the previous year, while its registered user base increased 25% to 7.4 million.

The firm is also weighing a public listing. Bitpanda is reportedly preparing for a potential IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as early as the first half of 2026, targeting a valuation between EUR 4 billion and EUR 5 billion. The plan comes as multiple crypto exchanges and infrastructure firms have either gone public or are planning to do so.

Bringing crypto to banks

The exchange spent the past decade largely focused on the European Union, where its app allows retail users to trade cryptocurrencies and other assets. But outside Europe, Sacheendran said the strategy needs to change. In some markets — especially smaller ones or those already dominated by global exchanges — launching a consumer app may not make sense.

Instead, Bitpanda wants to work through banks and financial institutions that already have distribution. “We don’t want to compete with exchanges everywhere,” he said. “There’s a big segment of the market that still trusts banks.”

The company formalized that approach earlier in March with the launch of Bitpanda Enterprise, a new institutional offering that packages the firm’s infrastructure for banks, brokers, asset managers, fintechs and corporate clients.

The unit builds on Bitpanda’s existing B2B business, previously known as Bitpanda Technology Solutions, and bundles several services into a single platform. These include API-based investment infrastructure for financial brands, institutional-grade custody, trading liquidity and settlement tools, and payment rails for crypto and stablecoins. The platform also includes token infrastructure for stablecoin issuance and systems designed to support tokenized assets.

UAE launchpad

One early example of that model came in July, when RAKBANK, one of the United Arab Emirates’ oldest lenders, launched crypto trading for retail customers through a partnership with Bitpanda. Instead of building its own infrastructure, the bank plugged into Bitpanda’s platform.

Sacheendran said deals like that often open doors elsewhere. Once one major bank adopts crypto services, others tend to follow. “When a top-tier bank starts offering it, the rest of the market takes notice,” he said.

Bitpanda’s pitch to institutional partners rests heavily on its regulatory positioning. The company has been operating under strict licensing requirements, including the European Union’s MiCA framework, widely seen as one of the most comprehensive crypto regulatory regimes.

Regulatory moat

That regulatory credibility travels, Sacheendran said, especially in emerging markets where regulators are still shaping their approach to digital assets. In many of those regions — including parts of Asia, Latin America and the Middle East — authorities are eager to develop the sector but want partners that already operate within strong compliance frameworks.

Asia-Pacific illustrates the complexity. The region is “very fragmented,” he said, with different rules in jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. Bitpanda’s approach there will be gradual: start small, test demand and scale where the regulatory and commercial conditions align.

On the product side, Bitpanda is evaluating derivatives trading, though Sacheendran noted that regulations differ widely across jurisdictions. He also expects tokenization to become a bigger theme in the coming years, particularly for assets such as bonds, money market funds and real estate.

Those markets could benefit from blockchain’s ability to enable around-the-clock trading and broader investor access, he said.

One area Bitpanda is unlikely to enter directly is stablecoin issuance. “We don’t build a stablecoin,” Sacheendran said, noting that the company prefers to provide infrastructure and operational support for institutions that want to launch their own.

Read more: Stricter MiCA rules could thin crypto industry across the EU, says Swiss wealth manager