Bitpanda

Bitpanda Going The Binance Way, Issuing Own Token

As cryptocurrencies get more attention, it’s now a supremacy battle between cryptocurrency exchanges. To win the fight, exchanges have over time created unique products to help them appeal traders.

For example, Binance, a leading crypto exchange in the world, introduced its native currency, BNB, that would, among other things, enable its holders to enjoy a discount when trading. To top it up, they recently launched their mainnet and an initial exchange offering platform via the Binance Launchpad.

Because of this, their recent coin support is gravitating away from ETH fueling rumors that Changpeng is probably sidelining Ethereum as a competing crowdfunding platform in favor of BNB.

Bitpanda Shedding Boundaries

Expectedly, other exchanges are on a similar path. Bitpanda, a virtual currency exchange based in Europe, is the latest to join the bandwagon. Last month, the exchange announced that it would launch a global exchange.

According to Bitpanda’s CEO, Eric Demuth:

“Offering experienced users a way to trade digital assets and building the largest Euro exchange is the next logical step for us. Bitpanda has been around since 2014, and we are a key player in Europe. We can build on a lot of synergies and experience.”

The launch of its global exchange was accompanied by an initial exchange offering (IEO), which was a first for Bitpanda. The Bitpanda Ecosystem Token (BEST), as with Binance coin (BNB), would see its holders benefit from “perks within the Bitpanda ecosystem.” For instance, BEST holders will see up to 25 percent reduction on their Bitpanda trading fees.

BEST Holders Are Divided Into Levels

Apart from a reduction in trading fees, rewards for holding BEST are divided into three levels. Level 1, 2, and 3 are differentiated by the amount of BEST bought. For instance, level 1 requires a minimum of 5 BEST, level 2 a minimum of 50 BEST, and level 3 a minimum of 500 BEST. Each level has its own benefits.

Demuth said:

“BEST will play a vital role in Bitpanda’s global expansion and in making our vision democratizing personal finance and investing. BEST is the fuel of the Bitpanda ecosystem, which means that the Bitpanda platform, the Bitpanda Global Exchange, and future products like Bitpanda Launchpad will make heavy use of incorporating BEST.”

The BEST token public sale was launched on July 9th with 500 million tokens out of the total 1 billion tokens up for sale. Since launch, the exchange has sold 60 percent of the 500,000,000 with each token retailing at €0.09.

The Bitpanda Launchpad

Another way Bitpanda is emulating Binance is by developing a crowdfunding platform dubbed Bitpanda Launchpad. The platform is designed to enable startups to attract capital by issuing an initial exchange offering.

As per the exchange, the IEO platform will “be a user-friendly process to guide investment opportunities and companies through a simple issuing process and successful launching of their individual token offering.”

Additionally, like Binance:

“This service will enable companies to launch their token offering with a combined listing on Bitpanda Global Exchange and direct access to a large user group on Bitpanda. Bitpanda users will get direct access to invest in these IEOs on the Bitpanda digital investment platform.”

The popularity of Binance Coin and the Binance Launchpad has led other leading exchanges to follow the same route. With the recent being Bitpanda, other top exchanges like BitMax, KuCoin, Huobi, Bibox, and OKEx and among a host of exchanges that have already launched their own token. Additionally, these exchanges have developed IEO launch pads to command the spotlight.