Bitpanda, Austria’s first unicorn company, has announced plans to expand its fintech operations to the Middle East, with the launch of Bitpanda MENA.
Bitpanda will “match the region’s ambitions and provide the infrastructure necessary to power future trading growth and unlock digital assets for millions of investors”, the company said.
The company has created a platform in which banks, fintechs, (neo-)brokers and crypto-native companies in the region will be able to launch their own trading solutions powered by Bitpanda’s infrastructure in as little as three months.
“The UAE is very vibrant, very energetic,” said Lukas Konrad, Deputy CEO of Bitpanda, in an exclusive interview with Finance Middle East at the Dubai Fintech Summit. “I always think it’s great that you see here a lot of adoption of crypto and digital assets have clear regulatory boundaries. Therefore, it was possible, after Europe to expand to the UAE.”
Konrad said that opening an office for the platform in the UAE allows Bitpanda to provide the necessary infrastructure to stimulate future growth of the trading sector and make digital assets available to millions of investors in the region.
“I personally believe that the adoption of digital assets will be in full force across the financial services industry, Konrad added. However, there’s still a lot of work to do.”
Bitpanda MENA will open its first office in Dubai at the DMCC Crypto Centre and is in the final stages of obtaining its FSP.
“As the world’s leading free zone and largest hub for Web3 in the region, DMCC is delighted that Bitpanda has announced its expansion to the Middle East via Dubai,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of DMCC.
“We’re thrilled to welcome another unicorn to Dubai.”
