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Major European cryptocurrency platform Bitpanda is facing a fork in the road. It’s allegedly mulling several company-changing options for its near future.
According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, the Austrian exchange is currently working with TradFi giants Citigroup and JPMorgan.
Additionally, options include a potential sale of the company or an initial public offering (IPO) in Frankfurt.
Notably, according to these sources, any deal that the Vienna-based company pens could potentially value it at a minimum of $4 billion.
Any deal, should the company decide on one, would also be signed in a relatively near future. The sources claim it would likely happen in 2025.
“Deliberations are ongoing, and the crypto exchange could decide against a transaction, the people said,” per the report.
The report also noted that neither of the three above-mentioned companies has commented on these statements.
Meanwhile, already in 2019, Bitpanda expressed its intention to create a “launchpad” for projects to raise funds through Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs).
A Busy Year for the Austrian Startup
Bitpanda was founded in 2014 and has become a prominent player in the crypto industry since.
It also boasts significant backers, such as billionaire Peter Thiel.
In 2021, it raised $263 million at a valuation of $4.1 billion. Investors in this round included Thiel’s Valar Ventures, billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard, Jump Capital, and REDO Ventures.
This August raise was triple the amount the company had received just five months earlier, in March that year.
In May this year, per Bloomberg, the company said it expected a record profit for the year. In first three months, it recorded some $108 million in revenue.
“It booked a €13.6 million pre-tax profit last year after more than €130 million of losses in 2022,” the report stated.
Earlier this month, Bitpanda introduced security tokens as a new investment vehicle for its retail investors.
The first security token they made available is Steelcoin. This is a “regulated, transferable security” tracking the value of selected steel products.
Also, it is the first of many security tokens to be listed on the platform in the future, the company said.
Meanwhile, in January 2024, Bitpanda launched Bitpanda Wealth, a trading platform offering institutional crypto services to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, external asset managers, and corporate treasuries.
In May, it expanded its partnership with banking giant Raiffeisen.
In June, Bitpanda partnered with Deutsche Bank and gained access to German International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) for safe and fast international transfers.
In August, Bitpanda Technology Solutions partnered with Coinmotion, a Finnish cryptocurrency broker, and with the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK) in the United Arab Emirates.
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