Peter Thiel-backed Bitpanda unveils Vision Chain to connect EU banks with tokenized assets

Peter Thiel-backed digital asset broker Bitpanda has launched Vision Chain, an Ethereum layer 2 network designed to provide a regulated infrastructure where financial assets and institutions can operate safely onchain.

Created with the Vision Web3 Foundation and built on the Optimism stack, Vision Chain delivers a compliant, resilient environment for financial institutions to issue and manage digital assets in line with MiCAR, MiFID II, and DORA, while minimizing volatility through euro-based stablecoin fees.

The network aims to address critical infrastructure gaps that have limited the adoption of tokenized assets across Europe, said Bitpanda CEO Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad in a statement.

“With Vision Chain, we are introducing a public blockchain built with Europe’s regulatory framework at its core,” he stated. “Together with Optimism and the Vision Foundation, Bitpanda creates infrastructure that combines the reach of public blockchains with the standards institutions require. This is about building long-term foundations for Europe’s digital capital markets.”

Fabian Reinisch, President of the Vision Web3 Foundation Board, said that Vision Chain advances the foundation’s mission to develop sustainable onchain infrastructure.

The network provides a unified alternative to isolated private networks, enabling institutions to scale from experimentation to full production while tapping into the global blockchain ecosystem, as noted by the team.

“Vision Chain reflects the growing demand for blockchain infrastructure that meets institutional standards without sacrificing the openness of Ethereum. Through OP Enterprise, we provide a fully managed deployment model that supports chain operations, infrastructure management, and ongoing upgrades, allowing partners to focus on product development and real-world use cases,” Jing Wang, CEO of Optimism, noted.

Building a connected web3 ecosystem

Vision Chain is part of Bitpanda’s effort to build a compliant, accessible web3 ecosystem that bridges traditional finance and decentralised technologies.

The ecosystem consists of five core components: a user-friendly non-custodial wallet, Vision Protocol for cross-chain liquidity aggregation, Vision Chain as a compliance-focused L2 blockchain, a Launchpad for early-stage web3 investments, and the Vision token ($VSN), which powers rewards, governance, and participation.

$VSN was trading near $0.052 at press time, giving it a market capitalization of $186 million, per CoinGecko.

A portion of fees generated across the Vision Chain is earmarked for periodic buybacks that permanently remove tokens from circulation, a deflationary mechanism intended to link rising network usage with upward pressure on token values. Staking rewards provide an additional incentive for long-term holders.

Competitive position

Vision Chain enters a competitive but fragmented market.

Major global banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Société Générale have developed proprietary tokenisation platforms, but these systems largely operate in silos with limited interoperability and fragmented liquidity.

Bitpanda’s thesis is that a shared, regulation-native public network can address this by serving as a common settlement layer, making assets issued by one participant more easily accessible.

Bitpanda’s institutional shift

Bitpanda has expanded from a retail-focused brokerage into institutional services via Bitpanda Enterprise, which supports partners including N26, Deutsche Börse Group, selected Raiffeisen banks, and RAKBANK.

The firm reported adjusted revenue of around €371 million in 2025, while its user base grew to more than seven million.

Bitpanda has also publicly indicated plans to pursue an IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2026, targeting a valuation between €4 billion and €5 billion.