Regulatory Concerns Raised Over Crypto Exchange Bitpanda ahead of Potential IPO
Bitpanda, a leading European cryptocurrency exchange backed by prominent investors like Peter Thiel and reportedly preparing for a Frankfurt stock exchange listing in 2026, is facing scrutiny over internal compliance and security issues. Investigations conducted by Süddeutsche Zeitung, WDR, NDR, and profil magazine have revealed concerns raised by internal auditors regarding the firm’s operations.
The reports center on Bitpanda Asset Management GmbH,the company’s German subsidiary.In 2023, an audit by Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory authority (BaFin) identified over a dozen violations, ranging from minor to serious, including deficiencies in data security, data storage, cybersecurity threat detection, and oversight of external service providers.
While Bitpanda assured BaFin that these issues were addressed, subsequent internal audits by the subsidiary’s own team cast doubt on these claims. Auditors found a lack of documentation and limited cooperation from the compliance department hindered verification of the reported fixes. One internal presentation warned of “current and ongoing non-compliance with regulatory requirements,” stating the lack of documentation rendered the company “unexaminable.”
Legal expert Nikolai Badenhoop of the Leibniz Institute for Financial Market Research expressed concern, emphasizing the importance of secure asset handling for customer trust. These concerns align with European regulations, such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which mandates robust infrastructure security and disruption management for financial institutions, including crypto asset service providers.
Further inquiry revealed issues extended beyond the German branch. A 2024 audit by KPMG Austria identified a lack of documentation at bitpanda’s Vienna headquarters and discovered that shareholders and a board member previously held “inappropriate privileged” access rights to IT systems.
In response, a Bitpanda spokesperson stated the company undergoes “extensive controls and assessments” and consistently receives unqualified audit opinions, working closely with regulatory authorities. However, the spokesperson did not confirm whether all identified issues have been fully resolved. The outcome of a recent BaFin audit conducted in late 2025 remains undisclosed, and BaFin itself has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Keywords:
* primary Topic: Cryptocurrency Regulation & Compliance
* Primary Keyword: Bitpanda
* Secondary Keywords: Crypto Exchange,BaFin,Regulation,Compliance,Audit,Cybersecurity,Data Security,IPO,Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA),Cryptocurrency Risks.
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