Bitpanda CEO says MiCA boosts retail trust in regulated crypto firms

Bitpanda’s chief executive says Europe’s crypto rulebook is doing something regulators rarely get credit for. It is making regular people more comfortable handing their money to regulated crypto companies. Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, who leads the Austrian digital asset platform, says the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, better known as MiCA, has increased retail investors’ trust in licensed firms. What Bitpanda is saying about MiCA In a June 2026 interview, Enzersdorfer-Konrad said MiCA creates “clear and uniform rules” that improve security and transparency for customers. MiCA replaced a patchwork of national approaches across Europe. Before it, a crypto firm’s obligations could look very different depending on which country it operated in. Bitpanda secured its MiCA crypto-asset service provider authorization from Germany’s BaFin in January 2025, then from Austria’s FMA in April 2025. Those approvals cover seven services, including crypto and fiat exchange as well as custody. They also let Bitpanda operate across borders throughout the European Economic Area. The numbers behind the trust claim By the end of 2025, the platform counted 7.4 million registered customers. The compa...