Bitpanda rebrands crypto exchange arm as One Trading
Austria-based FinTech platform Bitpanda has divided into two separate companies. The company’s cryptocurrency exchange, Bitpanda Pro, will become an independent entity known as One Trading.
In conjunction with this move, One Trading is also raising €30 million (roughly $33 million) in a fresh funding round. The capital injection was led by Valar Ventures, an investment firm headed by Peter Thiel. Other participants in the funding round include MiddleGame Ventures, Speedinvest, Keyrock, and Wintermute Ventures.
By splitting into two distinct companies, Bitpanda aims to further focus on the development and growth of its cryptocurrency exchange, Bitpanda Pro. This strategic move, accompanied by significant funding, will likely enhance the capabilities and offerings of One Trading in the cryptocurrency market.
“Since we first launched Bitpanda Pro, given its potential, we always knew and planned that its success would naturally make it evolve to become its own business,” said Eric Demuth, CEO of Bitpanda, in a press release.
By isolating itself, Bitpanda can navigate regulatory requirements more easily compared to One Trading, which intends to offer derivatives. Bitpanda Pro has primarily maintained a passive role in the crypto exchange arena. Nevertheless, despite the challenges, One Trading’s goal is to establish itself as a utility for liquidity providers, facilitating the exchange of substantial amounts of risk without limitations.
Behind the scene, the platform is offering a derivative product based on the underlying commodity prices. In essence, it allows traders to bet on an exchange-traded commodity (ETC) contract that tracks the price of individual commodities.
With inflation surging around the world amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Bitpanda believes that commodities can attract investors to diversify their portfolios in such an environment.
The news comes a few months after the Bank of Spain approved Bitpanda to act officially as a recognized virtual asset service provider (VASP) in the country.
Bitpanda, which is a Vienna-based cryptocurrency platform available in six European countries, was the 15th firm to receive this license. The approval allows it to operate in the country after having worked with the regulator to show it fulfills the requirements defined by law.
Founded in 2014, BitPanda is a retail broker for digital assets, including more than 30 cryptocurrencies . The company claims to have onboarded more than 2.5 million users and plans to expand into real-world assets to build out a pan-European offering, with the expansion already started in France, Spain and Turkey.
The new license comes as Madrid is seeking to police crypto activities through introducing a raft of new regulations, including tougher KYC rules for digital currency transactions. Spanish authorities want to prevent anonymity in cryptocurrency transactions thereby placing a ban on anonymous crypto accounts.
