Strategic digital asset partnership: Bitpanda and Raiffeisen are bringing crypto closer to banking

Bitpanda and Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) announced they are expanding their strategic partnership across Central and Eastern Europe. The agreement establishes a group-wide framework for RBI to integrate digital asset services across all of its markets in the region.

„Bitpanda will provide the underlying infrastructure via its B2B arm Bitpanda Enterprise, enabling RBI’s network banks to offer digital assets to around 18 million customers. The rollout will take place progressively, reflecting local market needs in each jurisdiction.” – according to the press release.

From a pioneering approach in Austria to a European banking model

In 2024, Raiffeisen Landesbank Niederösterreich-Wien (RLB NÖ-Wien) became the first traditional bank in the EU to offer crypto access through its existing banking environment, powered by Bitpanda. „The expanded partnership takes this model to the next level, moving from individual market integrations to a group-wide approach and creating the foundation for digital asset services across RBI’s wider CEE network.” – the bank said.

Bringing digital assets into everyday banking for 18 million customers

The scale of the partnership also reflects a broader development in financial services: As digital assets are maturing and becoming part of mainstream financial services, they are increasingly being integrated into the  banking environments and financial platforms people already use and trust.

Michael Höllerer, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International, said: “As a customer-centric bank, we are committed to meeting our customers’ needs in the best possible way. We are seeing growing demand for crypto assets in our markets, which we are addressing with a strong, reputable partner.”

Christian Trummer, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Bitpanda,said: “Technology has always been about building bridges between what exists today and what becomes possible tomorrow. Together with RBI, we’re doing exactly that: combining the reach and trust of traditional banking with digital asset technology to create infrastructure that works across markets and borders. I’m proud that what we pioneered in Austria is now growing into a partnership that can bring digital assets to millions of people in the CEE region.”

Marcel van Oost, Founder Connecting the dots in FinTech, commented: „Instead of sending customers to a separate crypto platform, digital assets could become another service available through the bank they already use. That’s an interesting shift for FinTech: crypto doesn’t necessarily need to replace traditional banking. It can simply become another layer of it.”

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Bitpanda Enterprise is the institutional infrastructure arm of Bitpanda, providing a unified technology that enables banks, fintechs, brokers, trading firms, family offices to offer digital asset capabilities to retail investors and corporate clients at scale. It brings together investment infrastructure, liquidity, custody, payments, stablecoins and tokenisation into one integrated ecosystem. Designed for long-term institutional growth, Bitpanda Enterprise prioritises compliance, transparency and scalability, helping institutions bridge traditional finance with the digital economy.

Photo: Christian Trummer, Co-CEO of Bitpanda, and Michael Höllerer, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International