Bitpanda, one of Europe’s leading digital asset platforms, is setting its sights on Brazil as it pushes deeper into Latin America. In a recent interview, CEO Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad shared insights into the company’s expansion strategy, thoughts on the evolving DeFi landscape, and how Bitpanda is building a bridge between traditional finance and crypto innovation.
From Vienna to the World: The Bitpanda Story
Founded in 2014 in Vienna, Bitpanda has grown from a retail-focused crypto exchange into a regulated financial platform offering over 3,200 assets—including cryptocurrencies, precious metals, stocks, ETFs, and commodities. Today, the platform serves more than 7 million users and collaborates with major financial institutions across Europe and the Middle East.
“Back then, crypto was barely on anyone’s radar,” says Enzersdorfer-Konrad. “We made it simple and accessible from day one—and that’s still our goal.”
Infrastructure at Scale: Bitpanda Technology Solutions (BTS)
A cornerstone of Bitpanda’s growth is Bitpanda Technology Solutions (BTS)—a white-label infrastructure platform designed for banks, fintechs, and even crypto-native companies.
Through BTS, clients can embed regulated digital asset trading directly into their services. Current partners include names like Deutsche Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, N26, and RAKBANK.
“Our infrastructure is modular, secure, and compliant,” says the CEO. “Partners rely on us to deliver seamless crypto access tailored to local regulations.”
Why Brazil Is Next
Bitpanda’s international expansion has focused heavily on Europe and the Middle East, but Latin America—particularly Brazil—is now front and center.
“Brazil has a young, digitally native population with growing demand for crypto and digital assets,” says Enzersdorfer-Konrad.
Bitpanda has already built a local team led by Rafael Teruszkin and is actively working on local partnerships. Regulatory developments in Brazil, he notes, create a more secure and structured environment for entry.
“There’s no fixed launch date yet, but we’re in advanced conversations. We’re going in with a long-term, compliance-first approach.”
DeFi, Stablecoins, and the Future of Finance
Looking ahead, Enzersdorfer-Konrad sees the crypto space moving toward broader institutional adoption, particularly as regulatory clarity improves.
“In the short term, crypto will blend more deeply with traditional finance. In the long term, tokenized real-world assets, stablecoins, and both DeFi and CeDeFi use cases will be foundational.”
He emphasizes that success in crypto isn’t just about speed—it’s about trust, smart partnerships, and a clear route to market.
Making Web3 Practical: The Vision Token
Bitpanda recently introduced Vision, its own Web3 token designed to connect users with onchain opportunities like staking, loyalty rewards, and tokenized real-world assets.
“We didn’t want to create another experimental token. Vision is meant to be useful—practical, transparent, and part of a regulated ecosystem,” says Enzersdorfer-Konrad.
Though there’s no confirmed launch date for Bitpanda’s DeFi Wallet in Brazil, the country is a priority.
“We’re taking our time to ensure it meets the expectations of the local DeFi community and complies with standards we set globally.”
What’s in a Name?
Asked about the company’s name, the CEO laughs: “Honestly, the domain was cheap and we liked it. We wanted something with ‘bit’ in it—and an animal. Bitpanda just sounded right.”
