Bitpanda strikes licensing deal with Coinbase

Bitpanda, the Vienna-based crypto investment business, has inked a licensing deal with Coinbase.

The arrangement will see Coinbase added as a liquidity provider for Bitpanda Technology Solutions, Bitpanda’s “investing-as-a-service” arm, which will also begin using Coinbase Prime’s custody services.

The deal will pave the way for clients of Coinbase Institutional outside of the United States to white-label Bitpanda’s investing-as-a-service platform, according to the announcement.

Institutional clients of the platform can integrate trading infrastructure to begin offering their own customers trading, investment and custody tools for a range of assets, including stocks and crypto. Austrian bank Raiffeisenlandesbank, German neobank N26, French fintech firm Lydia and the UK’s Plum are already using the service.

A high bar

In today’s announcement, both firms emphasized that they are regulated entities with high KYC standards.

“Bitpanda and Coinbase share an ambition — to make investing in digital assets safe and secure in a regulated way,” said Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, deputy CEO and COO of Bitpanda, in a written statement. “At a time of unparalleled opportunity for the industry to harness the potential of digital assets for its customers, we are coming together to define a clear future and drive forward that ambition.”

The move is the latest sign that Coinbase is trying to put down deeper roots outside of the U.S. amid a crackdown by regulators in the region. The company recently secured a license to operate an international exchange out of Bermuda, where it plans to offer derivatives trading while also expanding its offering in Singapore.