Raiffeisen rolls out bitcoin trading for 18 million customers

Raiffeisen is rolling out bitcoin trading for 18 million customers. The banking group is working with brokerage Bitpanda on the initiative. RBI chief executive Michael Höllerer said customer demand is driving the rollout. He said Raiffeisen wants to address demand with a reputable partner. The agreement creates one approach for the whole group instead of separate integrations in each market. In 2024, Raiffeisen Landesbank Niederösterreich-Wien became the first traditional bank in the European Union to offer crypto trading through its existing banking environment. The bank used Bitpanda's technology for that service. Raiffeisen has subsidiary banks in 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The group has about 42,000 employees. It serves 18.8 million customers through roughly 1,300 branches. Most of its branches are in Central and Eastern Europe. Regional Raiffeisen banks own about 61.2 percent of the company.