Bitpanda plans IPO in Frankfurt in first half of the year – Report
Insiders will hardly be surprised by the new Bloomberg report, but in any case: Vienna crypto unicorn Bitpanda, financed in part by billionaire Peter Thiel, is preparing for a stock market listing in Frankfurt that could already take place in the first half of 2026. The Vienna-based company is targeting a valuation of between 4 and 5 billion euros, according to people familiar with the matter who told Bloomberg. A listing as early as the first quarter is possible. Bitpanda has mandated Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank AG to handle the IPO.
Co-founder Eric Demuth confirmed several months ago to the Financial Times that London had been ruled out as a possible IPO venue. Instead, the company later examined a listing in Frankfurt or New York. Since Bitpanda sees itself as a leading European crypto player (in its core market Austria, it holds a 60 percent market share ahead of Binance and Kraken), it ultimately decided on Frankfurt. A final decision on the exact timing has not yet been made.
London ruled out due to lack of liquidity
Demuth cited the lack of liquidity on the London Stock Exchange as the main reason for excluding London. “Everyone is moving away from the LSE right now,” explained the former Bitpanda chief. He pointed to British fintech company Wise, whose shareholders voted last month to move its primary listing from London to New York.
Bitpanda can point to a successful 2024 business year and presumably equally strong 2025 as it considers its IPO plans. The company achieved revenues of 393 million euros in 2024, representing a 166 percent increase compared to the previous year, when it generated 147.6 million euros.
Profitability developed particularly remarkably: adjusted EBITDA more than quintupled, with Bitpanda achieving an EBITDA margin of over 30 percent. The company communicated this metric for the first time as a key performance indicator, after using profit before tax of 13.6 million euros as the main indicator in 2023. The shift to EBITDA reporting aligns with international standards for listed technology companies and should support IPO preparations.
Leadership change ahead of planned IPO
Eleven years after its founding, Bitpanda underwent a significant leadership change in 2025: co-founder Eric Demuth stepped down from his role as co-CEO and became Executive Chairman of the Bitpanda Group AG board of directors. Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad took over as sole CEO to lead operations at the European crypto unicorn. Previously, the two other Bitpanda co-founders Paul Klanschek and Christian Trummer had already stepped down from executive roles.
Current market conditions favor a listing for crypto companies. Under “crypto” President Donald Trump, the regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies has improved significantly, and in the EU there is clear legislation with MiCA providing licenses for companies like Bitpanda. Several crypto companies have already completed IPOs in the US, including Figure Technology Solutions, Gemini, Circle, Bullish, and eToro. For 2026, it is expected that Kraken, BitGo, and ConsenSys (MetaMask) will follow.
