Bitpanda, a cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform based in Austria, is collaborating with oinbase">Coinbase to facilitate the integration of digital assets into the offerings of European banks. The partnership will enable oinbase">Coinbase to utilize Bitpanda Technology Solutions, a provider of business-to-business infrastructure, to establish direct connections with banks and fintech companies.
According to Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, the Chief Operating Officer of BitPanda, despite the negative impact of the bearish crypto winter and the resulting damage to the reputation of the asset class due to the failures and blowups of last year, banks are keen on providing their customers with access to cryptocurrencies. This is particularly evident in Europe, where the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework has recently been implemented.
During an interview with CoinDesk, Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad stated that while oinbase">Coinbase has an exchange with a liquidity venue and a custody setup, they lack the complete infrastructure middle layer that would enable a partner to integrate and provide their end customers with access to cryptocurrencies traded and purchased on oinbase">Coinbase exchange and stored on oinbase">Coinbase Custody.
Bitpanda has established its crypto connectivity with several banks, neo-banks, and fintech platforms, including Raiffeisenlandesbank, a traditional Austrian lender, N26, a mobile bank in Europe, Lydia, a French money app, Plum, a fintech company in the United Kingdom, and Hype, an Italian mobile bank.
Enzersdorfer-Konrad noted that banks have access to data on their payment transactions, including the number of their customers’ funds that have been directed toward crypto companies. As a result, they are aware of the potential business opportunities they are missing out on, as well as the untapped market of customers who would engage in such transactions if they had greater confidence in the process.
Guillaume Chatain, the Head of Institutional Sales for EMEA & APAC regions at oinbase">Coinbase, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership with BitPanda, stating that they are pleased to work together to provide institutions with compliant and reliable cryptocurrency services for their customers.
