Bitpanda, a financial marketplace for digital and blockchain-based assets, has secured $52 million (£40.1m) in series A funding to help scale and build its presence in new European markets.
The Austria-based platform provider, which offers brokerage for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin among others, has expanded to France, Spain and Turkey in 2020, looking further afield for this year and next. The company claims to be doubling revenue annually, with more than 1.3 million users.
The funding round was led by Valar Ventures with Speedinvest among the other participants. Valar Ventures founding partner Andrew McCormack will join Bitpanda’s board.
Eric Demuth, Bitpanda co-founder and CEO, wrote in a blog that the funding round, with the disruption of Covid-19, had been a ‘hell of a ride.’
“Doing fundraising during those times was challenging as everything had to be done via Zoom calls,” wrote Demuth. “Getting big investors on board means you go into something resembling a business marriage. You hvae to share a common vision and believe in the same strategies but also work closely together, so the personal connection has to match as well.”
Alongside expansion to new markets, Bitpanda is looking to use the funding to expand its platform, in particular a ‘completely new and innovative’ way of stock trading. “We want our users to have ownership of their financial future at their fingertips, easily and seamlessly, with the best and most unique features,” wrote Demuth.
“Rest assured, we will not lose focus as we will, of course, continue driving innovations in crypto. We will provide education, empower our users to take their future into their own hands and remove all those barriers that prevent people from taking part.
“This is the path that will take us to becoming the leading investment and trading platform in Europe, driven by a growing team of bright, forward-thinking talent,” Demuth added.
Photo by Sid Balachandran on Unsplash
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