Starting in January, Raiffeisen bank in Austria will inaugurate the offering of trading and buying crypto, including Bitcoin, for its retail customers.
These new crypto services will be introduced at the Vienna branch through a strategic partnership with Bitpanda. See below for full details.
Austrian bank offers access to crypto: buying and trading Bitcoin
As anticipated, by the end of January 2024, the historic Austrian bank Raiffeisen will introduce crypto trading and buying services, including the prestigious cryptocurrency Bitcoin, for its retail customers.
Initially, this new opportunity will be available to customers at the head office in Vienna, with the cooperation of Bitpanda, the cryptocurrency exchange with which the bank signed a letter of intent earlier this year.
The bank’s head of innovation, Curt Chadha, said in an interview that the launch will take place in Vienna, a thoughtful choice given the city’s considerable customer presence, representing about a quarter of Austria’s population.
Customers will be able to access the service via the Raiffeisen app on their mobile device, ensuring a familiar experience.
Chadha emphasized that confirmation operations will be intuitive, similar to a bank transfer, with the same security standards customers are accustomed to.
This move by the bank, which manages some $215 billion in assets and has 17.8 million customers across the European Union and Eastern Europe, reflects the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies, particularly in regions where rules are becoming clearer.
Chadha specified that the service targets digitally savvy customers who may wish to make more modest investments, differentiating it from the offerings of other banks that often target high net worth individuals.
Bitpanda, founded in Vienna in 2014, is under the supervision of the FMA in Austria and the BaFin in Germany, offering companies regulated trading, investment, and custody services for a wide range of assets, including cryptocurrencies, stocks/ETFs, precious metals, and commodities.
The recent license for Bitpanda in Norway
Among other news, we see that Bitpanda recently reached a significant milestone.
In fact, the company is now one of the first foreign entities to obtain a license as a virtual asset service provider in Norway, as announced through its official Bitpanda account on X.
Bitpanda’s license portfolio spans several European jurisdictions, including Austria, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, and Sweden.
According to Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, deputy CEO of Bitpanda, this registration represents a significant step in the company’s European expansion path.
Konrad emphasized the need for a reliable investment platform in Europe, stating:
“Bitpanda is committed to being that platform. Over the past year we have distinguished ourselves as the only European provider to secure licenses in Germany, Sweden and now Norway, enabling more than 4 million users to access digital assets and facilitating major financial institutions and new European banks.”
In May 2023, Norway, outside the European Union, signaled its intention to adopt an independent approach to cryptocurrency regulation.
Norway’s central bank, in its annual report, exposed doubts about the adequacy of the forthcoming pan-EU regulation of cryptocurrency markets (MiCA), indicating that it may not meet all of Norway’s cryptocurrency regulatory requirements.
In this context, many cryptocurrency exchanges continue to face regulatory challenges imposed by European authorities.
For example, in September, New York-based Gemini dropped out of the Netherlands citing difficulties in meeting regulatory standards.
The difficulties are not unique to the European Union, as the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority recently added 143 new entities to its list of warnings regarding unregistered asset providers.
Brief focus on Bitcoin’s price
Recently, the value of Bitcoin has maintained a robust position, initiating a steady rise above the $37,000 resistance threshold.
BTC has recovered all previous losses, even returning to the $37,750 resistance zone. Currently, it appears that bullish traders are facing challenges in breaking through this resistance band.
In addition, a peak occurred near $37.848, and at the moment the price is consolidating the gains made.
There has been a movement below the Fib retracement level of 23.6 percent, which considers the increase from the low of $35.645 to the high of $37.848.
Currently, Bitcoin is trading above $37.200, holding above the 100-hour simple moving average.
In addition, a short-term contraction triangle is forming, with resistance near $37.420, as highlighted in the charts. On the upside, immediate resistance is near the $37.420 level.
The first significant resistance is taking shape around $37.750, while major resistance remains near the $38.000 level. A close above the $38,000 mark could trigger a significant rise.
The next key resistance could manifest near $38,800, above which BTC would have the opportunity to rise and test the $39,200 level. In an optimal situation, it could even reach the $40,000 resistance threshold.
