The Austrian crypto trading platform Bitpanda is preparing for an initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Bloomberg reports, citing informed sources, that the IPO could take place as early as the first half of 2026.
Bitpanda is targeting a valuation between 4 and 5 billion euros, according to sources. The company has appointed Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank as underwriters. The decision in favor of Frankfurt came after examining the London Stock Exchange. Co-founder Eric Demuth had previously stated that a listing would take place in either New York or Frankfurt. Weak liquidity on the London Stock Exchange led to the rejection of a UK IPO. Frankfurt is now positioning itself as the preferred location for European crypto companies.
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Regulatory foundation for the IPO
Bitpanda has built a comprehensive regulatory infrastructure in recent months. In January 2025, the platform became one of the first crypto companies to receive a MiCAR license from German financial regulator BaFin. This was followed by licenses from Malta's financial authority MFSA and in April 2025 from Austria's FMA. This makes Bitpanda the first company with three MiCAR licenses in Germany, Malta and Austria.
The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation entered into full force on December 30, 2024. It creates a harmonized legal framework for crypto service providers across the EU. Bitpanda is consistently leveraging this advantage. The licenses enable access to all 27 EU member states and potentially over 500 million users. Additionally, Bitpanda holds a PSD2 payment service provider license and an e-money license.
Market position and financial development
Bitpanda was founded in 2014 by Eric Demuth, Paul Klanschek and Christian Trummer in Vienna. The platform now serves over 7 million users in around 40 countries, primarily in Europe. The offering includes more than 650 cryptocurrencies as well as trading in tokenized stocks and precious metals. In total, over 3,200 instruments are available.
In 2024, Bitpanda generated operating revenue of 393 million euros. This represents more than a doubling compared to the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA increased fivefold, and the EBITDA margin exceeded 30 percent. The company describes this as the strongest financial performance in its history to date. The growth resulted from market expansion, new institutional partnerships and product extensions, as well as the general market upswing.
Bitpanda raised a total of around 530 million dollars across six funding rounds. The last major round in August 2021 brought in 263 million dollars and valued the company at 4.1 billion dollars. Investors include Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures, which acted as lead investor. Other backers include Alan Howard, REDO Ventures, LeadBlock Partners and Jump Capital. The now-targeted stock market valuation of 4 to 5 billion euros is thus close to the last private valuation.
Strategic realignment and partnerships
At the beginning of 2026, Bitpanda underwent a leadership change. Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, previously deputy CEO, took over as sole managing director. Co-founder Eric Demuth moved to the position of Executive Chairman and President of the Board of Directors of the Swiss holding company Bitpanda Group AG. In this role, he focuses on long-term strategy and global expansion. Co-founders Paul Klanschek and Christian Trummer had already withdrawn from operational business earlier.
Enzersdorfer-Konrad has been with Bitpanda since 2018 and played a significant role in shaping strategy, scaling and regulatory foundations. The leadership change took place against the backdrop of the planned IPO and aims at a clearer responsibility structure. In parallel, Bitpanda expanded strategic partnerships. Since 2023, Deutsche Bank has served as the European house bank for cross-border services in Austria and Spain.
In July 2025, Bitpanda and Deutsche Bank announced the joint launch of a crypto custody service for 2026. This will draw on the digital asset infrastructure of Taurus, a provider in which Deutsche Bank holds a stake. Further collaborations exist with N26 Bank, which integrated Bitpanda's trading platform into its app, and the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank. The latter enables crypto trading in 55 branches across Austria.
European capital market as test case
A Bitpanda IPO would strengthen European stock markets, which have struggled to attract high-growth companies from the crypto sector. Frankfurt is actively positioning itself in this segment. Deutsche Börse included crypto services in its "Horizon 2026" strategy. Plans include expanding the blockchain-based D7 platform for digital securities and a trading platform for digital assets exclusively open to institutional investors.
Public capital markets are increasingly opening up to crypto companies. In June 2025, Circle went public on the NYSE, followed by Bullish in August and Gemini in September. For 2026, other companies such as Kraken, BitGo and Consensys are preparing for IPOs. In this context, Bitpanda could become the first European crypto unicorn to take the step to go public.
But details such as the final valuation and exact timeline remain open. Bloomberg even mentions the first quarter as a possible window. The underwriting banks Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank bring substantial capital market experience. The final decision depends on market conditions and regulatory developments. A successful IPO would not only give Bitpanda access to additional capital, but also send a signal for the European crypto location.
