More crypto beckons for German neobank N26

Crypto trading is to be offered to N26 customers in five new EU markets, following the service's formal European launch last year.

The German neobank's crypto exchange, dubbed N26 Crypto, will progressively become available to user accounts across Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal and Ireland. 

Prior to the latest announcement, N26 Crypto was marketed solely to Austrian customers. The crypto exchange already has €6 billion under its management and is executed in partnership with the asset management division of Austrian crypto trading app Bitpanda.

N26 Crypto is also being pitched as a perk for premium customers with Bitcoin transaction fees falling as low as 1% for account holders in its N26 Metal programme, though standard N26 customers will also have access.

The interface is designed to be accessible, offering real time trading logs and "clear" visual graphs to give customers an accurate handle on portfolio performance.

Valentin Stalf, co-founder and co-CEO of N26, said: "Market fluctuations aside, cryptocurrencies continue to remain a requested and interesting asset class for investors and a growing part of the financial system.

"Cryptocurrency trading is often the entry point to investing for a new generation of investors who are looking to explore ways to grow their wealth."

Giles BianRosa, N26's chief product officer, added: "The N26 banking experience has always been built around the customers’ needs, with features that make money management easy.

"With N26 Crypto we have created a simple, intuitive product that integrates seamlessly into N26’s fully-regulated banking experience where one’s bank balance, savings, and investment portfolio sit side by side - with cryptocurrencies being the first asset class we intend to offer.”

N26 was among the first wave of neobanks to hit European markets, but the expansion has had its issues. Two of the West's largest fintech markets, the US and UK, never really took to the product and it was forced to exit both territories having failed to gain traction.

The move into crypto trading has a problematic context given the fiascoes that have enveloped the industry over the last year, particularly the swift collapse of exchange FTX in November after Binance pulled out of a proposed acquisition deal, leaving its leverage on extremely shaky ground.

While N26's management will feel their corporate structure is far more resilient, the business has had its own dealings with regulators. German financial supervisors slammed N26 with a €4.3 million fine over anti-money laundering failings in 2021. Last year, it was hit by an Italian regulatory probe for anti-money laundering reasons, and was subsequently banned from accepting new Italian registrations for bank accounts. N26 says weaknesses in its know-your-customer controls have since been resolved.