The Austrian bank Raiffeisen is actively expanding its presence in the cryptocurrency market – from January 2024, clients will be able to trade this type of digital assets.
Initially, the service will only be offered to clients in Vienna, where the bank is headquartered. The project will be implemented jointly with the Bitpanda cryptocurrency exchange.
“We're starting with Vienna because about a quarter of Austria's population lives here,” explained the bank's head of innovation, Curt Chadha.
The customer will be able to use their mobile device to log into Bitpanda through the Raiffeisen app. The service is aimed at those who are already digitally savvy but may only want to make a small investment. This differs from the proposals of other banks, which are aimed at wealthy people who are ready to invest millions, assures the top manager of Raiffeisen.
Founded in Vienna in 2014, Bitpanda is regulated by regulators in Austria and Germany, allowing it to offer legal trading, investment and custody services for investments in stocks, precious metals and cryptocurrencies.
Raiffeisen has approximately $215 billion in assets and 17.8 million customers in the European Union and Eastern Europe. The bank plans to become the first traditional EU bank to include cryptocurrencies and other asset classes in its digital investment offering.
Bitpanda recently notified users that it has received a virtual asset service provider license in Norway. Representatives of the cryptocurrency platform assured that they took into account all the requirements of the local regulator.