Bitpanda, an Austrian exchange, announced Tuesday that it has obtained a crypto license in Germany through its local unit.
Bitpanda Asset Management GmbH can independently offer crypto custody as well as proprietary trading for crypto assets for German residents, according to a press release from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).
“Bitpanda will also be able to maintain an order book and directly market services for crypto assets, allowing them to provide a secure and regulated environment for German customers to invest in a wide range of cryptocurrencies,” the company said.
Regulators around the world are keeping a close eye on the crypto industry as it recovers from the collapse of crypto exchange giant FTX. Germany is a member of the European Union, which recently completed its comprehensive framework for supervising cryptocurrency issuers and service providers seeking to operate in any of the trade bloc's 27 member states.
Since FTX declared bankruptcy in the United States, Stefan Berger, the German lawmaker in charge of shepherding the draft legislation through the European Parliament, has stated that the EU's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) should be the global standard for cryptocurrency regulation.
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However, MiCA will not go into effect until at least 2024, and EU countries such as Germany and France are still issuing local regulatory licenses – though the latter has stated that it will begin winding down the local regime in preparation for MiCA.
Bitpanda, Austria's first fintech unicorn, received regulatory approval in a number of European countries, including Austria, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and Sweden.
Bitpanda co-founder and CEO Eric Demuth said in a press release that the German license had been in the works for months.
“That means being regulated, and it means a strict separation of customer and company assets, which is sadly not the case everywhere these days,” Demuth said, apparently referring to reports that FTX misappropriated customer funds for risky trades.
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