Austrian cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda has delivered a stinging rebuke to London’s financial markets, abandoning plans for a London Stock Exchange listing in favor of Frankfurt and New York—a decision that underscores the LSE’s precipitous decline from global financial powerhouse to what might charitably be called a liquidity desert.
The numbers tell a particularly damning story: London’s IPO market managed to scrape together a mere $215-$248 million in the first half of 2025, representing a thirty-year nadir that makes the $11.88 billion raised in 2021 look like ancient history from a different financial epoch. CEO Eric Demuth didn’t mince words, describing the LSE as “struggling” with liquidity—diplomatic language that barely conceals the exchange’s transformation into something approaching a financial backwater.
Bitpanda’s strategic pivot toward Frankfurt and New York reflects a broader exodus of ambitious companies seeking actual capital rather than ceremonial listings. The Frankfurt option offers proximity to Bitpanda’s European core while providing the liquidity that London apparently forgot how to generate, while US exchanges present the tantalizing prospect of regulatory clarity (a concept seemingly foreign to current UK policymakers) and institutional support for digital assets.
The crypto sector’s migration to American and European venues has produced impressive results that London can only observe from the sidelines. Circle’s $1.05-1.2 billion NYSE debut in mid-2025 established benchmarks that London’s anemic market couldn’t approach, while Bullish and eToro have thrived on US exchanges backed by institutional investors who evidently prefer markets where shares actually trade.
This strategic realignment reflects more than mere opportunism—it represents calculated assessment of regulatory environments, investor appetites, and market dynamics. Bitpanda’s robust user growth and transaction volumes position the company for a significant public offering, assuming they can identify exchanges capable of handling actual trading activity.
The company’s ongoing evaluation includes potential dual listings to maximize capital access, a strategy that acknowledges modern capital markets’ geographical fluidity while highlighting London’s diminished relevance. As crypto firms increasingly bridge mainstream finance gaps, Bitpanda’s London rejection symbolizes a broader recognition that some financial centers have simply lost their way.
The move comes as established players like CEX.IO continue demonstrating that regulated cryptocurrency exchanges can successfully serve millions of users across global markets, setting precedents for institutional-grade operations that ambitious IPO candidates now seek to emulate.
