Crypto Adoption Outpaces Bank Readiness in Europe

A new report from Bitpanda Technology Solutions, produced together with zeb Consulting, shows that European financial institutions are significantly underestimating demand from business and private investors for access to cryptocurrency. 

The report is based on data collected* from over 10,000 survey respondents across 13 European countries. It is one of the first studies to holistically analyse crypto adoption among retail and business investors across Europe and match that insight with indepth qualitative insight from financial institutions (FIs) about their adoption and future plans.

Analysing the survey data there is a broad consensus from both private (27%) and business investors (56%) that cryptocurrencies will become more relevant over the next three years. Additionally, more than 16% of private investors and more than 40% of business investors are already invested in crypto, with a further 12% and 18% respectively planning to enter the market soon. 

Despite this growing demand, the FIs surveyed as part of the report state that only 19% of their client base show a high demand for crypto products suggesting that they underestimate the actual adoption of crypto by private investors by more than 30%. This highlights a key opportunity for early adopters, who are willing to respond to rising demand. 

Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, Deputy CEO of Bitpanda, commented: “The data is clear, both business and retail investors are ready for crypto, and they expect secure, regulated avenues to participate. Financial institutions that delay integrating crypto services risk losing revenue to their competition or crypto native companies. With MiCAR providing regulatory clarity, the time to act is now.”

Rising demand is slowly being recognised by FIs across Europe, with 18% of the FIs surveyed planning to expand their crypto service offerings. However, the most significant focus for these institutions is on expanding their service offerings in crypto transfers. While this is a positive step for the crypto industry, it is more focused on increasing AUM than meeting the increased demand for retail services.

This limited scope for adoption is due to concerns around reputational risks (31%), lack of knowledge within the business (21%), and a lack of resources (14%). This hesitation contrasts sharply with the behavior of business and retail investors, who are adopting crypto at a significantly faster rate than banks expect.

Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad continued: “Lack of knowledge or resources is not a barrier for institutions that want to develop a crypto offering for their clients. 47% of surveyed FIs plan to offer crypto services through a white label partner such as Bitpanda Technology Solutions. By working with us FIs can deploy  a fully customisable solution in as little as 6 months. Our tech, our expertise, our regulatory and compliance experience, our resources – all unlocking a new source of revenue.”

The report also highlights that FIs are increasingly looking to partner with regulated infrastructure providers to bridge the gap between demand and service availability. Solutions like Bitpanda Technology Solutions allow banks and fintechs to offer digital assets in a compliant and secure manner, meeting the needs of their clients without the burden of building in-house solutions from scratch.

With the introduction of the EU’s MiCAR framework, FIs now have a clear regulatory path for integrating digital assets. This represents a critical turning point for traditional finance, removing many of the barriers that previously slowed adoption. The study suggests that banks that do not adapt risk missing out on one of the fastest-growing asset classes in Europe.