Bitpanda Acquires DeFi Custodian Wallet Provider Trustology

Trustology is Bitpanda’s first acquisition. The main objective behind the deal is to make decentralized finance (DeFi) more accessible to institutional investors, service providers as well as token issuers.

• Trustology is an institutional crypto custodian wallet provider registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It secured the licensing in October last year. Following the latest acquisition deal, the London-based platform will be rebranded to “Bitpanda Custody,” the announcement read.
• The focus is to create a “secure, sophisticated, and compliant” institutional-grade crypto custody platform for all users.
• Joshua Barraclough, Bitpanda Pro CEO, commented:

“This is a great step for us as a company and especially for Bitpanda Pro. Bitpanda Custody is part of our strategy to offer a fully comprehensive set of services to our client base and we can now combine an FCA registered, institutional-grade custody solution with a leading trade execution venue.”

• At first, Bitpanda Custody will take custody of the exchange’s own assets across its retail, institutional, and white-labeling services. According to the announcement, this move will make Bitpanda Custody one of the largest digital assets custody providers in the world.
• In addition to Bitpanda’s existing license in the European Union (EU), the newly revamped Bitpanda Custody will be tasked with operating custodian services in the United Kingdom.
• The platform also plans to expand the range of services provided to customers and partners. Bitpanda Custody’s introduction represents the first step in rolling out a Prime Brokerage offering under Bitpanda Pro. This will be working alongside the regulated digital asset exchange.
• Launched in 2014, Bitpanda had a series B funding round at $170 million in March last year, during which it became the first unicorn startup in Austria.
• As part of its expansion efforts, Bitpanda raised $263 million five months later, pushing its valuation to $4.1 billion. The funding round saw the participation of Valar Ventures – a US-based venture capital company founded by Peter Thiel.