Bitpanda CEO says MiCA boosts retail trust in regulated crypto firms

Bitpanda’s chief executive says Europe’s crypto rulebook is doing something regulators rarely get credit for. It is making regular people more comfortable handing their money to regulated crypto companies.

Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, who leads the Austrian digital asset platform, says the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, better known as MiCA, has increased retail investors’ trust in licensed firms.

What Bitpanda is saying about MiCA

In a June 2026 interview, Enzersdorfer-Konrad said MiCA creates “clear and uniform rules” that improve security and transparency for customers.

MiCA replaced a patchwork of national approaches across Europe. Before it, a crypto firm’s obligations could look very different depending on which country it operated in.

Bitpanda secured its MiCA crypto-asset service provider authorization from Germany’s BaFin in January 2025, then from Austria’s FMA in April 2025. Those approvals cover seven services, including crypto and fiat exchange as well as custody. They also let Bitpanda operate across borders throughout the European Economic Area.

The numbers behind the trust claim

By the end of 2025, the platform counted 7.4 million registered customers. The company also reported adjusted revenue of €371 million for the year, with growth it put at 25% year over year.

Enzersdorfer-Konrad took the top job in November 2025. In September 2026, Bitpanda announced a partnership with Raiffeisen Bank International aimed at crypto trading for up to 18 million customers across 11 European markets.

Regulation cuts both ways

In August 2026, Austria’s FMA issued its first MiCA-related penalty, a fine of €70,000 levied against Bitpanda. The penalty related to issues with white paper submission and marketing.

The fine is modest relative to Bitpanda’s reported revenue. Still, it illustrates a point the CEO’s argument implicitly depends on: oversight only builds trust if it actually bites.