Bitpanda Launches Layer-2 Vision Chain to Bring Tokenized Assets to Europe

With Vision Chain, Vienna-based fintech company Bitpanda today launched its own blockchain infrastructure designed to connect regulated financial markets with the world of decentralized technologies. The network targets banks, asset managers, fintechs, and developers alike, and is intended to advance the tokenization of real-world assets in Europe. In doing so, the Vienna-based company — which could go public in 2026 — is jumping on the (not entirely new) trend of “Real World Assets” (RWA).

What is Vision Chain?

Vision Chain is a so-called Layer-2 blockchain built on top of Ethereum. It was developed in collaboration with the Vision Web3 Foundation and blockchain infrastructure provider Optimism. The goal is to create a standardized, regulatory-compliant environment in which financial institutions can issue and settle tokenized assets.

The network is aligned with the requirements of the European regulatory framework. It takes into account the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), and resilience principles under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). All network and transaction fees are settled via MiCAR-compliant euro stablecoins.

What is a Layer-2 rollup?

A Layer-2 blockchain is a network that builds on top of an already existing blockchain, known as the Layer-1 chain. In the case of Vision Chain, that is Ethereum. Transactions are not settled directly on Ethereum; instead, they are bundled on the faster and cheaper Layer-2 level and then submitted to Ethereum in batches. This process is referred to as a rollup.

The advantage: transactions are significantly faster and more cost-effective than on Ethereum itself, while the security of the underlying main chain is preserved. At the same time, existing Ethereum applications and smart contracts remain compatible, as Vision Chain uses the same technical standard.

What is Optimism?

Optimism, or rather the company behind it, OP Labs, is a blockchain infrastructure provider that developed the so-called OP Stack — an open-source technology base for building Layer-2 networks on Ethereum. Numerous well-known blockchain projects use this stack as their technical foundation.

Vision Chain uses the “OP Enterprise” model. This fully managed deployment model handles chain operations, infrastructure management, and ongoing upgrades. Bitpanda and the Vision Web3 Foundation can thereby focus on product development and real-world use cases without having to build their own blockchain infrastructure from scratch.

Optimism is currently under pressure, however. As recently as March, the development firm behind it, OP Labs, laid off 20% of its workforce. CEO and co-founder Jing Wang said on X that there were no financial problems and that the company had runway for several years, but that it wanted to sharpen its focus. Most recently, Coinbase — which ran its own blockchain Base on Optimism — announced it would be dropping the OP Stack in favor of in-house technology.

Who is Vision Chain intended for?

Vision Chain is explicitly not aimed solely at institutional players, but is intended to be open to all user groups. The key target audiences at a glance:

• Banks and issuers: Infrastructure for issuing tokenized assets and stablecoins on a regulated basis
• Fintechs: Access to regulated crypto and RWA products (Real World Assets) for their users
• Asset managers: Building onchain funds with secure custody, reporting, and complete traceability
• Web3 developers: Development of decentralized applications and financial products in a compliant environment
• Private individuals: Access to investment opportunities previously reserved for professional market participants

Bitpanda itself states that it has over seven million registered users, who are set to gain access to the products available on Vision Chain through the platform.

Which assets are supported?

Vision Chain is focused on so-called tokenized real-world assets, referred to in English as Real World Assets (RWA). These are traditional financial instruments represented as digital tokens on a blockchain. Specifically, the infrastructure supports the following asset classes:

• Equities and bonds
• Real estate
• Stablecoins (tokens pegged to fiat currencies)
• Onchain funds
• Other regulated financial instruments

Tokenized assets are accessible around the clock and can be traded and managed at any time, which represents a practical advantage over traditional financial market structures with fixed trading hours.

Technical features and compliance

Vision Chain relies on Ethereum-standard smart contracts and integrates onchain Know Your Customer (KYC) mechanisms. This means that identity verification and regulatory requirements are anchored directly within the blockchain infrastructure. In addition, controllable token rules allow issuers to specifically govern the transferability and use of their tokens.

A further element is the Vision Token (VSN), issued by the Vision Web3 Foundation, which serves as the commercial engine of the ecosystem. A portion of network revenues is used to buy back VSN tokens and remove them from circulation. This is intended to ensure that increasing network activity directly contributes to the value development of the ecosystem.

“Today we still talk about digital assets, but in the future virtually all assets will probably be digital. Tokenization will fundamentally transform capital markets,” says Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, CEO of Bitpanda.

Assessment

With Vision Chain, Bitpanda is attempting to close an infrastructure gap that has until now left European financial institutions reliant on proprietary, closed networks with limited interoperability. The approach of combining a public blockchain with institutional compliance requirements has so far been rare in the European market.

Whether the model achieves the broad impact hoped for will depend, among other things, on how many financial institutions are willing to offer tokenized products on an external infrastructure, and on how the regulatory environment in Europe continues to evolve. The technical foundation provided by Optimism’s proven OP Stack and the integration into the Ethereum ecosystem are considered a solid starting point.