Vienna-based crypto broker Bitpanda is launching a new blockchain network aimed at bringing tokenized assets into Europe’s regulated financial system as institutions strive to move towards always-on markets.
The company said Wednesday that it built its “Vision Chain” with the Vision Web3 Foundation and Optimism ON$0.1126will provide infrastructure for banks and fintechs to issue and settle tokenized assets under EU rules such as MiCA and MiFID II.
The network uses compliant euro-denominated stablecoins for transaction fees to avoid the volatility associated with typical crypto payments on public chains. It also relies on Optimism’s Ethereum-based infrastructure to handle settlement and scaling.
The move comes as companies in the global financial world look deeper into tokenization to improve the level of the market for 24-hour trading. The technology is widely seen as a way to streamline the way assets are issued, traded and recorded, reducing reliance on fragmented legacy systems. It’s potentially a huge market: tokenized assets could grow 53% per year and reach $18.9 trillion across all asset classes by 2033, a joint report from Boston Consulting Group and Ripple estimates.
The initiative reflects a broader race among financial companies. Rival digital broker Robinhood (HOOD) is currently testing its own blockchain called Robinhood Chain, built specifically for trading tokenized stocks and connecting to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Wall Street giants like Nasdaq and NYSE are also working on their blockchain platforms for tokenized securities, merging crypto rails with the same compliance and safeguards as for traditional systems.
Bitpanda’s chain fits into the company’s broader strategy to bridge crypto rails and traditional finance, providing banks and financial institutions with blockchain plumbing to deliver digital asset services to their customers.
“Tokenization is expected to redefine capital markets,” said Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, CEO of Bitpanda, in a statement. ‘European financial institutions have been ready for this shift for years, but the infrastructure is lacking.
“With Vision Chain, we are building a public blockchain designed around European regulatory standards, combining the openness of public networks with the reliability that institutions need,” he added.
Read more: Crypto broker Bitpanda bets on banks and tokenization to expand globally ahead of IPO plans