Bitpanda Launches Ethereum L2 ’Vision Chain’ for Banks & Asset Managers to Tokenize Real-World Assets
European fintech giant Bitpanda has launched Vision Chain, an Ethereum-based Layer-2 blockchain, specifically designed for regulated financial institutions to tokenize real-world assets (RWAs). The network, developed with Optimism and the Vision Web3 Foundation, provides a compliant settlement layer for banks and asset managers ahead of Bitpanda's anticipated 2026 stock market debut. Built to fully comply with EU regulations including MiCA, MiFID II, and DORA, the platform mandates all transaction fees be paid in euro-backed stablecoins, positioning it as a major infrastructure play for institutional crypto adoption in Europe.
Optimism partnership faces headwinds
Optimism, through its company OP Labs, built the OP Stack, an open-source foundation for creating Layer-2 networks on Ethereum. Vision Chain uses the OP Enterprise model, which handles chain operations, infrastructure management, and upgrades. This lets Bitpanda and the Vision Web3 Foundation work on product development instead of building blockchain infrastructure themselves.
But Optimism has its own problems. In March, OP Labs laid off 20% of its workers. CEO and co-founder Jing Wang said on X the company had no money troubles and had funding for several years, but wanted to sharpen its focus.
Coinbase, which ran its Base blockchain on Optimism, recently said it would drop the OP Stack for its own technology.
Vision Chain isn’t just for big institutions. Banks and issuers can use it to issue tokenized assets and stablecoins. Fintech companies get access to regulated crypto and real-world asset products for their users. Asset managers can build investment funds with secure custody and reporting. Developers can create apps and financial products. Regular investors can access opportunities that were previously only for professionals.
Bitpanda says it has over 7 million registered users who’ll get access to Vision Chain products through the platform.
The network handles tokenized real-world assets—traditional financial instruments turned into digital tokens on a blockchain. It supports stocks and bonds, real estate, stablecoins tied to regular currencies, investment funds, and other regulated instruments. Tokenized assets can be traded anytime, unlike traditional markets with set hours.
Vision Chain uses Ethereum-standard smart contracts and has identity verification built into the blockchain. Issuers can control how their tokens get transferred and used.
Vision token powers the ecosystem
The network has the Vision Token, issued by the Vision Web3 Foundation, which runs the ecosystem. Part of the network’s revenue buys back Vision tokens and takes them out of circulation. The idea is that more network activity helps the ecosystem’s value.
“Today we still talk about digital assets, but in the future virtually all assets will probably be digital. Tokenization will fundamentally transform capital markets,” said Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, Bitpanda’s CEO.
The launch comes as Bitpanda grows its institutional business. Earlier this month, the company introduced Bitpanda Enterprise, which combines institutional custody, trading liquidity, payment solutions, and asset tokenization tools for banks and financial firms.
Bitpanda reported €371 million in adjusted revenue for 2025, up 16% from the year before. Users grew 25% to 7.4 million registered accounts. The company has over 700 employees.
As reported by Cryptopolitan previously, Bitpanda is preparing for a possible IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the first half of 2026. The company is looking at a valuation between €4 billion and €5 billion. Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist behind Facebook and PayPal, is among its investors.
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