Tag: Eric Demuth

Austrian crypto platform Bitpanda has gained FCA approval, marking a major step in its UK expansion. Already holding a MiCAR license, the company is reinforcing its position as Europe’s leading regulated crypto provider. With a full suite of investment products—including staking, savings plans, and crypto indices—Bitpanda is not just entering the UK market but ambitiously aiming to set new standards.

Bitpanda CEO Eric Demuth’s dog, Picci, takes center stage at corporate events. Does this quirky branding align with the gravitas needed for a €3-4 billion crypto giant preparing for an IPO? Alt Text for Images: Eric Demuth at a corporate event with his dog Picci, raising questions about leadership optics and professionalism at Bitpanda.

The Austrian crypto exchange BitPanda's recent announcement of a strategic partnership with AC Milan, one of Europe's most iconic football clubs, marks yet another instance of a cryptocurrency platform venturing into the world of sports sponsorship. While such high-profile partnerships may lend credibility and visibility to the crypto platform, they also raise critical questions about the underlying motives and the potential risks for investors.

After a challenging year in 2022, Bitpanda is making a significant comeback, driven by strategic cost-cutting and a recovering crypto market. Bitpanda faced a severe downturn in 2022. The company's turnover plummeted from €500 million to €90 million, resulting in a loss of €116 million. This decline was attributed to an overburdened cost structure and the crypto winter. For 2023, the company reported a pre-tax profit of €13.6 million.

Bitpanda is one or the bigger European crypto exchanges based in Vienna. It announced a strategic addition to its leadership team, welcoming Philipp Bohrn as the new Managing Director. Bohrn, a compliance expert has been previously serving as Vice President of Regulatory Compliance, AML, and Public Affairs. In his prior roles, he was instrumental in overseeing the regulatory frameworks for the Bitpanda Group.

A new crypto hype is imminent. Crypto companies are once again sponsoring prominent football clubs. FC Bayern Munich, the renowned German soccer team, has entered into a multi-year partnership with Austrian crypto service provider Bitpanda. This collaboration marks Bitpanda's emergence as a prominent Platinum Partner and FC Bayern's official crypto trading partner.

The crypto winter is not only affecting the big players, such as Binance or Coinbase. The poor market sentiment has also affected the business figures of the Austrian crypto exchange Bitpanda. The main crypto exchange from the German-speaking region saw its 2022 revenue drop from €477 million to €90 million, with the loss really exploding to €116 million, PayRate42 reports. Valuation slumped from €3.3 billion to €1.3 billion.

Amid the crypto winter and liquidity crisis, the Austrian crypto exchange and custody platform Bitpanda announced that it had received a crypto trading license from Germany’s BaFin. According to Bitpanda, it is the "first European retail investment platform to meet BAFIN’s strict regulatory requirements." The crypto exchange allegedly benefited from the FTX crisis because many customers would have transferred their cryptos to the regulated Bitpanda.