Bitpanda Co-founder: We are actively evaluating IPO plans, but will not list in London

PANews reported on August 26th that Eric Demuth, co-founder of the crypto exchange Bitpanda, told the Financial Times that while Bitpanda is actively evaluating IPO plans, it "will not be listing in London." Instead, the company is considering listings in Frankfurt or New York, but has not yet set a specific timeline. Demuth stated, "Right now, the London Stock Exchange isn't performing very well from a liquidity perspective. I hope things will improve, but I think it's going to struggle for the next few years." He noted that several companies, including the British fintech company Wise, have already moved their primary listings overseas or are in the process of doing so to attract more investors.

The UK is facing its worst IPO drought in decades. Funding from London IPOs fell to a 30-year low in the first half of this year, raising concerns about its ability to compete with other global financial centers. The UK's crypto policy has also been widely criticized. In June, analysts at the independent think tank OMFIF argued that the UK had squandered its first-mover advantage in distributed ledger finance.