While London once commanded respect as a premier destination for ambitious companies seeking public listings, Austrian cryptocurrency platform Bitpanda has unceremoniously crossed the city off its IPO shortlist—a decision that CEO Eric Demuth attributes to the London Stock Exchange‘s increasingly anemic liquidity conditions.
The numbers tell a sobering tale of London’s precipitous decline. The UK IPO market managed a paltry $215M-$248M in the first half of 2025, a catastrophic plunge from 2021’s robust $11.88B—a thirty-year nadir that would make Victorian-era financiers weep into their tea. Demuth’s assessment proves brutally pragmatic: insufficient active buyers and sellers create the kind of tepid trading volumes that transform promising public debuts into corporate purgatory.
Bitpanda’s strategic pivot toward Frankfurt and New York reflects broader market realities rather than mere geographic preference. Frankfurt offers compelling advantages given Bitpanda’s substantial mainland European revenue streams and regulatory alignment, while New York’s deeper capital markets provide institutional-grade liquidity that London can no longer guarantee. The company even contemplates dual listings—a shrewd maneuver to maximize capital inflows and global investor access.
Recent crypto IPO successes underscore this strategic calculus. Circle’s impressive $1.05B NYSE debut exemplifies the robust investor appetite available in American markets, while firms like Wise have similarly abandoned London for greener (literally) pastures across the Atlantic. The cryptocurrency sector’s integration with traditional financial markets demands venues capable of supporting institutional participation—a requirement London increasingly fails to meet.
Regulatory considerations further complicate London’s appeal. While Bitpanda has expanded its legal and compliance teams to navigate complex jurisdictional requirements, the U.S. government’s supportive stance toward digital assets creates a more hospitable environment for crypto IPOs. Frankfurt benefits from European regulatory clarity that contrasts sharply with Britain’s post-Brexit uncertainty. This regulatory clarity has served as a critical factor for mainstream adoption across various jurisdictions, particularly benefiting institutional investors seeking compliance assurance.
This exodus represents more than corporate opportunism—it signals fundamental shifts in global capital market dynamics. When companies consistently choose liquidity over legacy, even prestigious exchanges must confront uncomfortable truths about their diminishing relevance.
For Bitpanda, the decision appears straightforward: why settle for London’s struggling waters when Frankfurt’s regulatory harmony and New York’s institutional depth await?
