More and more crypto platforms are working towards becoming universal exchanges, and research firms are forecasting a race to create a “super app” for crypto.
Bitpanda is moving towards what it terms a “universal exchange model” by adding equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to its platform. This is a step beyond just digital assets.
Vienna-based crypto exchange will let people trade roughly 10,000 equities and ETFs starting on January 29. Bitpanda added that this change will let users trade both cryptocurrencies and regular financial items in the same app.
The company added that buying and selling stocks and ETFs will cost a fixed fee of 1 euro ($1.17) per trade, with no extra fees for order flow, custody, or withdrawals. Bitpanda said that the launch was part of an effort to make investing in different types of assets easier.
Universal exchange strategy takes shape
Bitpanda’s offer comes at a time when more cryptocurrency platforms are trying to become universal exchanges, meaning they want to let people trade digital assets, stocks, and precious metals all in one place.
Eric Demuth, the chairman and co-founder of Bitpanda, said it was the “next evolution” of the platform.
We made crypto easy and safe for everyone eleven years ago, and now Demuth stated, “the next step for Bitpanda is coming.” the financial market: for the first time, we’re bringing all markets and asset classes together in one app.
Centralised exchanges expand their offerings
The primary goal of the leading cryptocurrency platforms is to develop a universal exchange method.
To attract additional investors, some of the largest centralised cryptocurrency exchanges (CEXs) have begun offering TradFi investment products.
As part of a “phased national rollout,” Kraken said in April 2025 that it would launch 11,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs with no commissions. The goal was to integrate “equities and digital assets together” on one trading platform.
At the end of 2025, Coinbase added stock trading to its exchange and changed the name of its wallet software to “everything app.” This was the first step towards allowing stocks and ETFs to be traded 24/7 along with crypto assets.
Delphi Digital, a firm specialising in cryptocurrency analysis, characterised the trend as a “super app” competition. They believe that the cryptocurrency industry is entering a “aggregation era,” during which value shifts from protocols to platforms that attract the highest number of users and trading activity.