Bitpanda, an Austrian cryptocurrency exchange, is branching out into the Middle East and setting up shop in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Walid Benothman, the former head of expansion and business development at 1inch Network, has been brought in by the company to oversee operations in the area.

In a statement, Bitpanda claimed that it will establish its first office in Dubai at the DMCC Crypto Centre and that it has hired a seasoned group under the direction of Benothman to customise its product for the region.

Bitpanda stated it will keep collaborating with local regulators to ensure it complies fully and that it is nearing the completion of acquiring its Financial Services Permission (FSP).

"The United Arab Emirates is the best location for us to begin our the Middle Eastern market. It has the perfect mix of investor demand and innovative regulatory environment that will allow us to deliver the best trading solution available on the market,” said Eric Demuth, co-founder and CEO of Bitpanda, in a press release.

The UAE is the fintech unicorn’s first expansion outside of Europe due to the region’s “tech-friendly banking industry” and the country’s crypto-friendly regulatory environment.

Bitpanda BTS

The firm said it will be making its trading infrastructure business dubbed “Bitpanda Technology Solutions” (BTS) available in three months once Bitpanda MENA has finalised obtaining its local licence later this year

Earlier this year, Austrian cooperative bank Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien (RLB NÖ-Wien) began allowing its clients to trade digital assets via their banking apps using Bitpanda infrastructure.

In April, German federal bank Landesbank Baden-Württemberg entered a crypto partnership with Bitpanda to offer crypto-asset custody services in the second half of 2024.

Bitpanda said over the next few months it will work with the German bank to provide corporate clients with a regulated platform using its “investing-as-a-service” infrastructure for crypto-asset custody and procurement.

Bitpanda was founded in 2014 in Austria by Eric Demuth, Paul Klanschek and Christian Trummer, achieving unicorn status in 2021.