European crypto platform Bitpanda is set to expand operations across the UK following approval from the City regulator.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has permitted Bitpanda to bring its suite of 500 cryptocurrencies to the UK market. 

Bitpanda’s entry adds to the increasing pressures across traditional banks as they face competition from the modern abilities of fintechs and challenger banks. 

Deputy chief executive Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad told City AM: “The choice for UK banks is clear – either they develop a solution to offer trading to their users, or those users will look for an alternative.”

He added: “People want their money to do more, they want more choice in what they can invest in and when and how they can invest.

“They want convenience but not at the cost of security.” 

‘Born out of demand’

He said it was this demand that fintechs and challenger banks were “born out of” and traditional banks should utilise platforms like Bitpanda to “deploy a world class solution in a few months, rather than an in-house version that might take years”.