Bitpanda

Is Bitpanda safe?

Bitpanda is a cautious place to buy crypto in Europe. It has run in Vienna since 2014 without a reported hack of customer funds, holds MiCAMiCAThe EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which requires crypto exchanges and other providers to be licensed and supervised.More in the glossary licences from three EU regulators, and keeps client crypto in trust, which matters most if the company ever fails. We score it 83/100, level with Bitstamp and just above Bitvavo.

The gap is transparency. Unlike Kraken or Bitvavo, Bitpanda does not publish a proof of reservesProof of reservesA report in which a crypto exchange shows that it holds enough coins to cover all customer balances, ideally checked by an outside firm.More in the glossary you can check yourself, so you rely on its audited accounts and its word.

Why the trustee model matters

When FTX failed, its customers found they were unsecured creditors. Bitpanda's structure is meant to avoid that. Its terms say you are the beneficial owner of the crypto and metals you buy, and Bitpanda holds them as a trustee. If something goes wrong, you can claim a right of separation under Austrian law, meaning your assets are taken out of the estate before creditors are paid.

Bitpanda also says it does not speculate with client assets and never uses them as collateral. MiCAMiCAThe EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which requires crypto exchanges and other providers to be licensed and supervised.More in the glossary now makes both rules binding on every licensed EU custodian. Two limits apply. Euro balances are e-moneyE-moneyMoney held as a stored balance with a payment firm rather than as a bank deposit. It is safeguarded, not covered by deposit insurance.More in the glossary held by Bitpanda's payment arm, safeguardedSafeguardingThe legal duty of payment and e-money firms to keep customer money separate from their own, so it can be returned if the firm fails.More in the glossary but not covered by Austria's deposit guaranteeDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary. And "Bitpanda Stocks" use a different set-up: the underlying shares sit with a licensed securities custodian and are pledged to customers, which is not the same as the trustee model for crypto.

Licences

Regulator	What it covers
FMA, Austria	MiCAMiCAThe EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which requires crypto exchanges and other providers to be licensed and supervised.More in the glossary licence for Bitpanda GmbH, April 2025, passported across the EEA
BaFin, Germany	MiCA licence for Bitpanda Asset Management GmbH, January 2025
MFSA, Malta	MiCA licence for a group company, January 2025
FCA, UK	Cryptoasset registration, retail launch February 2025
United States	Not licensed

Bitpanda also holds an e-moneyE-moneyMoney held as a stored balance with a payment firm rather than as a bank deposit. It is safeguarded, not covered by deposit insurance.More in the glossary licence and a MiFID II investment firm licence, which are older and stricter than crypto registrations. The UK registration is an anti-money-launderingAnti-money launderingThe rules and checks that stop criminals from moving illegal money through banks, payment firms and crypto exchanges.More in the glossary one. The FCA itself said in 2022, after Bitpanda bought the custody firm Trustology, that this regime does not let it vet new owners before a deal, and that Bitpanda held no other UK authorisation at the time.

The first published MiCA fine in Austria

In August 2026 the FMA fined Bitpanda GmbH €70,000. It was the first final MiCAMiCAThe EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which requires crypto exchanges and other providers to be licensed and supervised.More in the glossary penalty the Austrian regulator had published. The case concerned a token launched in 2025:

• the white paper was not sent to the FMA at least 20 working days before it was published;
• marketing went out before the white paper was public;
• one marketing message lacked the required statement that no regulator had approved it, and lacked a phone number and email address.

Bitpanda accepted a fast-track procedure and waived its right to appeal. It said the problems were about timing and form, and that no customer funds were affected. The amount is small next to its reported 2024 net profit of about €61.7 million. We count it as a compliance lapse, not a sign of risk to client assets.

Reserves and accounts

Bitpanda files audited annual accounts in Austria. For 2024 it reported net profit of about €61.7 million and total assets of about €1.03 billion, according to Trending Topics. It says its cold storageCold storageKeeping crypto keys on a device or medium that is not connected to the internet, which protects them from most online attacks.More in the glossary is examined by an external auditor. What is missing is a regular public attestation that sets customer balances against wallet holdings and lets you confirm your own balance. A planned Frankfurt listing, reported by Bloomberg in January 2026, would bring fuller disclosure, but we found no sign it had happened by October 2026.

How to use Bitpanda more safely

1. Turn on two-factor authenticationTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary with an authenticator app rather than SMS.
2. Know which product you hold. Crypto and metals are held in trust; stocks, margin and leveraged products work differently and carry their own risks.
3. Withdraw long-term holdings to a wallet you control. The trustee model protects you in an insolvency, but a claim still takes time to process.
4. Keep only what you need in euro balances, which are not covered by deposit insuranceDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary.

How we scored it

Security history (90) is Bitpanda's strongest factor, with no customer funds lost to attackers in over a decade. Reserves (75) is the weakest, because there is no public proof of reservesProof of reservesA report in which a crypto exchange shows that it holds enough coins to cover all customer balances, ideally checked by an outside firm.More in the glossary with a per-user check. Custody (85) reflects the trustee structure under Austrian law, and legal record (82) the 2026 MiCAMiCAThe EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which requires crypto exchanges and other providers to be licensed and supervised.More in the glossary fine and the 2022 FCA statement, neither of which touched client money.