Coinbase expands into Europe, partners with Bitpanda to offer cryptocurrency services to customers

Coinbase has partnered with the Austria-based cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform Bitpanda. Coinbase will utilize Bitpanda's business-to-business infrastructure layer to directly connect with banks and fintech companies, offering cryptocurrency services to customers.

Coinbase Leverages Bitpanda Infrastructure and Network

Bitpanda is an Austria-based company headquartered in Vienna, founded in 2014. Its trading platform offers products such as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether, commodities like silver and gold, as well as various stocks and ETFs. Cryptocurrencies can be stored in digital wallets on the Bitpanda platform and can also be sent to other users. Additionally, the company provides its own credit card.

BitPanda's COO Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad mentioned in an interview with CoinDesk:

Coinbase is an exchange and custodian with high liquidity, but they lack partners in the middle layer of the entire infrastructure that can be integrated.

Bitpanda has already established partnerships with several banks, neobanks, and fintech platforms, such as Raiffeisenlandesbank in Austria, European neobank N26, French money app Lydia, UK fintech Plum, and Italian neobank Hype.

Enzersdorfer-Konrad further added that banks are looking to offer crypto services to customers, especially after the MiCA regulatory framework for the crypto asset market is passed.

Coinbase Actively Expanding Outside the U.S.

Facing strict and ambiguous regulations in the U.S., Coinbase is actively expanding overseas to diversify risks, including: integrating with Brazil's central bank payment system Pix to provide fiat on/off-ramp services, negotiating with the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to establish a regulated exchange, and obtaining regulatory approval in Bermuda to launch the "Coinbase International Exchange."

According to the published MiCA proposal, the EU will formulate a white paper format within a year and regulate crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) within 18 months. Although formal implementation is still some time away, Coinbase chooses to first collaborate with Bitpanda, leveraging its existing infrastructure and bank partnerships to enter the European market.

For more details on MiCA, please see: EU Member States Unanimously Pass MiCA, Stabilizing Coins and Crypto Exchanges to be Regulated