Bitpanda, an Austrian digital investment platform dealing with cryptocurrency, announced that it has closed it Series B funding round with an investment of $170 million and attained unicorn status with a valuation of $1.2 billion.
The funding round was led by Valar Ventures with participation from partners of DST Global. Bitpanda had also previously secured $52 million during its Series A from Valar Ventures.
The Series B was signed last week and is currently in the necessary approval process of the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA).
Bitpanda said in a blog post that it would be using the new funding to expand its team which currently has 350 staff members to around 600.
The company has already expanded into France, Spain, Turkey, Italy and Poland in 2020 and will enter additional European markets throughout 2021 and the years to come.
In December 2020, a tech innovation hub was established in Krakow with the objective of doubling the workforce and there are plans to form tech hubs and offices in Madrid, Barcelona, London, Paris and Berlin.
Bitpanda had previously launched a debit card by Visa that is linked to the assets in its user’s portfolio, enabling them to use Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency holdings to shop online and in stores worldwide.
Commenting on the funding, Eric Demuth Co-founder and CEO said,
“Becoming Austria’s first unicorn is a great achievement, and I’m incredibly proud of the team for everything we have accomplished over the past few years. It is yet another endorsement in our vision to give everyone more access and greater control over their financial future, on their terms, no matter their financial means.”
Retail investors will soon be able to access an even larger range of digital assets, and we already have plans in place to bring our offer to several new markets. Our goal is to continue leading the digital investment revolution in Europe and to help people build the confidence and knowledge to be in charge of their financial future. Our partners and this round will enable us to do that, and more.”
Featured image: Eric Demuth Co-founder and CEO of Bitpanda
