The $9 billion-valuated German fintech N26 launched crypto trading on its mobile app. Starting from Austria and rolling out to other countries in the upcoming months, N26 Crypto will let its customers buy and sell 200 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The Berlin-based fintech announced on Oct. 20 that the launch in Austria addresses “strong local demand,” with 40% of N26 users either actively trading or have expressed interest in investing in cryptocurrencies. N26 plans to roll out its crypto trading service to other key markets in the next 6 months. N26 customers with a verified identity can …

Despite the turbulence that broke out in the crypto market this summer, there is an important long-term marker that should be considered in any complex assessment — the combination of adoption and regulation. The latest report by EUBlockchain Observatory, named “EU Blockchain Ecosystem Developments,” tries to measure this combination within the European Union, combining the data on each and every member country from Portugal to Slovakia. As the original report counts more than 200 pages, Cointelegraph prepared a summary with the intent to capture the most vital information about the state of crypto and blockchain in Europe. We started from …

Philately? If you are a millennial, there is a good chance you used Google to find out that there is a word dedicated to collecting and studying postage stamps. This same search also paints the picture of a hobby in decline, as younger generations are increasingly preoccupied with their screens and the constant stream of dopamine hits served up by TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and other popular social media platforms. Two European postal services have looked to capitalize on the popularity of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in recent years to reinvigorate the philately sector. Cointelegraph caught up with Netherlands’ PostNL and the …

Austrian crypto and stock trading platform Bitpanda joins the growing list of companies to announce a mass layoff as it aims to “get out of it financially healthy” amid an unforgiving bear market. Over the past several weeks, the bear market resulted in numerous catastrophic outcomes for many ecosystems such as TerraUSD Classic (USTC) and Abracadabra’s Magic Internet Money (MIM) de-pegging fiasco. Witnessing the crashes from a front-row seat, Bitpanda made the “tough decision” of cutting down its employee headcount to roughly 730 people. While the exact number of employees intimated to stop working for Bitpanda remains undisclosed, data from …

Austrians have “sufficient funds” for more Bitcoin ATMs — that’s the verdict that MediaMarkt, a German electronics retailer, reached following a successful Bitcoin ATM pilot in Austria. MediaMarkt has rolled out Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs in 12 branches across the country, including Seiersberg and Klagenfurt. Confinity and its spinoff ATM company, Kurant, manage over 200 Bitcoin ATMs in Austria, Germany, Spain and Greece. Kurant's Head of Marketing & Sales, Europe, Thomas Sperneder told Cointelegraph: "MediaMarkt stores across the country have been equipped with Bitcoin vending machines. In total, these are now present in twelve markets and enable the simple and secure …

Austria has been actively transforming into an attractive location for providers of blockchain-based products, with the government itself experimenting with the technology and trying to create a legal basis upon which companies can use it. With regard to blockchain-based applications in the economy, however, Austria is still in the experimental phase, with most firms still running pilot projects. Still, politicians and economists alike see potential for select industries. Public administration reform via blockchain The Austrian government is quite open to blockchain innovations, cryptocurrencies aside, and has supported various projects in the public and private sectors. In 2019, a consortium of …

The Belvedere museum in Vienna collaborated with the artèQ investment fund to launch a nonfungible token (NFT) drop inspired by one of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt's most famous works "The Kiss." Released on Valentine’s Day, a digital copy of this early 20th century depiction of a pair of lovers was divided into a 100-by-100 grid of 10,000 individual pieces offered as NFTs. The cost of one NFT was estimated at 1,850 euros, as stated on the collection's website, which converted to .65 ETH on Feb. 14 and suggested the total nominal value of the NFT painting was 18.5 million euros …

An interesting year has come to an end for the crypto industry in Germany. Although blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have not yet found wide acceptance in the country, more and more domestic institutions and investors are becoming interested in the crypto world thanks to legal clarity. Here, we’ll look back at the most important developments in the German blockchain and cryptocurrency industries in 2021. Securities law reform to embrace blockchain In terms of legal challenges, German legislators have increasingly been taking a lead role and 2021 was no exception. Since June 2021, the Electronic Securities Act (Gesetz über elektronische Wertpapiere) …

London-based financial services firm ETC Group will list its entire portfolio of crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) offering exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) on Austria’s national stock market. In a Wednesday announcement, the ETC Group said the Wiener Börse, or Vienna Stock Exchange, would be listing three of its crypto exchange-traded products that are “100% physically backed and central counterparty cleared.” These include the firm’s carbon-neutral Bitcoin product, a Litecoin-based product and its Ether ETP. The ETC Group has already made similar listings on stock exchanges in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Zurich and Frankfurt. The ETPs are aimed …

Following the successful expansion of its cryptocurrency service within its homeland of Switzerland, fintech firm Leonteq has now launched a collaborative effort with ICF Bank — one of Germany’s leading securities trading banks — to bring crypto to institutional investors throughout Germany and Austria. Well regarded for their accolades in the Swiss markets, including being the “world’s first short tracker certificate on Bitcoin in 2017, as well as the world’s first reverse convertible on Bitcoin in 2019,” the firm is now set to make further strides in the emerging space. Following the evolution of a multi-year relationship, Leonteq and ICF …

Oesterreichische Post AG — Austria’s postal service — is set to adopt even more digital technology protocols for its nonfungible token (NFT) postage stamps. In a recent announcement, the Austrian Post revealed plans for incorporating near-field communication (NFC) chips in Crypto Stamp 3.0 — the third iteration of its limited-edition NFT postage stamp collectible series. These embedded NFC chips will allow stamp owners to verify the authenticity of the physical stamp based on metadata tied to the digital twin stored on the blockchain. Indeed, the Austrian Post made history back in 2019 by becoming the first government-backed institution to launch …

Austria-based cryptocurrency firm Bitpanda has closed a $170 million funding round to further the firm's international growth. The latest Series B funding round was led by Valar Ventures — a venture capital firm backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel — Bitpanda announced on Tuesday, and featured partners from Yuri Milner’s investment firm DST Global, which is known as a major investor in United States-based crypto-friendly stock trading app Robinhood. While DST is a new investor in Bitpanda, Valar previously led a $52 million Series A round in September 2020. According to Bitpanda, the new funding round has made the firm …