Bitpanda is a European crypto and multi-asset broker headquartered in Austria, regulated by Germany's BaFin and Austria's FMA. Its standing promotion is a Tell-a-Friend referral that pays both you and your friend a reward starting around €5 once the friend invests their first €500, scaling up with larger investments. The reward is modest and conditional on the referred user funding and investing, so it suits existing users sharing the app rather than a sign-up windfall.
Risk warning: Trading carries a high risk of losing money, especially with leveraged products such as CFDs. A bonus does not reduce that risk. Only deposit what you can afford to lose.
Bitpanda
Refer a friend to Bitpanda and you both earn €5 once they invest their first €500 in crypto or a Bitpanda Crypto Index, with rewards scaling up to a joint €200.
Profile checked against official sources on · How we rate
Bitpanda was founded in Vienna in 2014 by Eric Demuth, Paul Klanschek and Christian Trummer, initially as a Bitcoin exchange before taking the Bitpanda name in 2018. The company has since grown into a multi-asset investment platform, reporting more than 7 million users and over 700 employees across offices including Vienna, Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid and London.
Bitpanda is a private company; it raised a $263 million round in 2021 that valued it above $4 billion, making it one of Austria's few unicorns at the time. It has not published a fresh valuation since.
Bitpanda's core entity, Bitpanda GmbH, is registered with Austria's Financial Market Authority and, as of April 2025, holds a crypto-asset service provider authorization under the EU's MiCA regulation. Under MiCA's passporting rules, that license lets it offer crypto services across the EU and EEA without separate national licenses.
In Germany, Bitpanda Asset Management GmbH holds a BaFin license for crypto custody and proprietary trading, granted in 2022. Separately, stock and ETF trading runs through Bitpanda Financial Services GmbH, which holds a MiFID II investment firm license, the EU framework governing regulated securities brokers. The group's approvals are split across entities because crypto, securities and payments fall under different EU regimes.
Bitpanda's core offering is cryptocurrency trading, alongside Bitpanda Metals, which gives fractional exposure to physically-backed gold, silver, platinum and palladium; the underlying metal is held in a Brink's vault in Switzerland, and Bitpanda states buyers hold legal title.
Bitpanda Stocks gives access to a large catalog of shares and ETFs. Rather than buying the underlying security directly, users typically get a 1:1 derivative contract backed by shares Bitpanda holds through a custodian bank, which is how it offers fractional investing from small amounts. A separate Real Securities option exists in some markets where users hold shares directly. Other products include Bitpanda Earn for staking (rewards paid weekly, with a lock-in only on ETH) and the Bitpanda Card, a Visa card that pays 1% cashback when the selected payment asset is crypto (cashback does not apply to fiat, stocks, metals or stablecoin payments).
Bitpanda's original ecosystem token, BEST, has been retired in favor of a new token called Vision (VSN): trading of BEST stopped in mid-2025 and remaining balances convert automatically. Anyone expecting BEST-based perks should check the current terms, since the token program is mid-transition.
Bitpanda's standing consumer promotion is the Tell-a-Friend referral program. Once a referred friend invests a first €500 in crypto or Bitpanda Crypto Indices, both the referrer and the friend receive €5. Rewards scale with further investment, up to a stated joint maximum of €200 per referral. Only crypto and index purchases count toward the threshold, not swaps, sales, stocks, metals or card spending, and each referred friend's investment is tracked independently.
Because this is a referral reward rather than a sign-up bonus, it suits existing users inviting people they know rather than someone comparing pure sign-up offers. The program is open to verified users in countries where verification is possible, but it explicitly excludes the UK, and multiple accounts to farm rewards can result in a permanent ban.
EU consumer-protection and MiCA/MiFID rules constrain how aggressively Bitpanda can market rewards: conditional bonuses tied to trading activity face more scrutiny than a flat welcome credit, which is part of why Bitpanda's referral structure is built around funded investment thresholds rather than an unconditional cash-on-signup offer.
New users go through identity verification before they can trade. Availability and product access vary by country of residence: stocks and ETFs, for instance, are limited to EU and EEA residents, so check current eligibility on Bitpanda's own site rather than assuming full access.
A common point of confusion is that most Bitpanda Stocks positions are derivative contracts that track a share 1:1, not direct share ownership, even though Bitpanda holds the underlying stock. Users who want direct legal ownership need to check whether Real Securities is available for their market. Fees also vary meaningfully by asset class; precious metals in particular carry buy and sell premiums (roughly 0.5% to buy and 1% to sell gold) on top of any spread.
Yes. Bitpanda GmbH holds a crypto-asset service provider authorization from Austria's FMA under the EU's MiCA regulation as of April 2025. A separate group entity holds a crypto custody and proprietary trading license from Germany's BaFin, and Bitpanda Financial Services GmbH holds a MiFID II investment firm license for stock and ETF services.
Through the Tell-a-Friend program, you and a friend you invite each receive €5 once your friend invests their first €500 in crypto or Bitpanda Crypto Indices. Further rewards unlock at higher investment milestones, up to a combined maximum of €200 per referral. The reward requires actual funded investment from the referred friend, not just a sign-up.
No. Bitpanda's standing promotion is the referral program, and any reward requires a referred friend to sign up through your link, verify their account and invest a minimum amount. Check Bitpanda's current campaigns page for time-limited offers, since these change and are not available in every country.
In most cases, no. Bitpanda Stocks are typically issued as derivative contracts that replicate a share's value 1:1, while Bitpanda holds the underlying security through a custodian bank. Some markets offer a separate Real Securities option where you hold shares directly. Check which structure applies before investing if direct ownership matters to you.
BEST, Bitpanda's original ecosystem token launched in 2019, has been retired. Trading of BEST on the platform stopped in mid-2025, and Bitpanda has said remaining balances convert automatically to a new token called Vision (VSN). Anyone with BEST holdings should check Bitpanda's current terms directly.
Bitpanda operates primarily under EU and EEA regulatory frameworks. Some services and promotions, including the Tell-a-Friend referral program, explicitly exclude the UK, and products like stocks and ETFs generally require EU/EEA residency. Verify eligibility for your country before assuming full access.