40% of European Businesses have Crypto: The Adoption Gap Financial Institutions must Bridge

The “Europe Diving Into Crypto” report by Bitpanda Technology Solutions in collaboration with zeb consulting provides a triangular view of the European crypto landscape through the lens of private investors, business investors, and financial institutions. This extensive market research, covering 13 countries with surveys of approximately 10,000 participants ranging from private investors to businesses (3,000), and 40 financial institutions, reveals fascinating insights into the current state and future trajectory of crypto adoption across Europe.

Financial Institutions’ Approach to Crypto

One of the most revealing aspects of the report is how financial institutions are approaching crypto services. Despite recognizing crypto’s potential (80% acknowledge it as a legitimate asset class), adoption among financial institutions remains cautious:

• Only 41% of surveyed European financial institutions currently offer any type of cryptocurrency services
• This drops to just 19% when looking specifically at EU-based institutions
• A significant disparity exists between institutional types: 100% of private banks offer crypto services!! 50% of regional banks offer crypto services, while only 10% of universal and large banks do.

The slower adoption by larger banks is particularly striking considering the overall strong positive sentiment: 83% of financial institutions anticipate crypto becoming more relevant in the next three years. This suggests major financial players may be underestimating client demand, with the report explicitly stating that financial institutions perceive lower client interest than actual survey data indicates.

When financial institutions do offer crypto services, they typically start with fundamental offerings:

• Crypto custody (41%) and brokerage (31%) are the lead current services
• Advanced services like staking (7%) remain rare[1]
• Nearly half (47%) rely on white-label solutions rather than building in-house capabilities

Businesses Investments in Crypto

The business sector shows significantly higher crypto engagement than private investors, with 40% of businesses having current or past crypto investments compared to just 16% of private individuals. Several intriguing patterns emerge:

• Industry leaders: Technology, telecom and finance companies lead adoption, comprising nearly 50% of businesses invested in crypto
• Tech dominance: 31% of all crypto-invested businesses come from internet, technology and telecom sectors
• Size matters: Companies with higher revenues (€5–100 million range) show higher investment rates, with approximately 30–35% having crypto investments
• Regional variations: CEE countries show above-average business investments (33% currently invested), while Italy lags (18% currently invested)
• Country contrasts: The UK shows the highest percentage (40%) of businesses with no plans to invest, followed by Italy (35%)

Unlike private investors who often prefer direct Bitcoin investments, businesses demonstrate broader investment strategies:

• 46% prefer indirect investments through funds or products
• 35% favor altcoin exposure versus just 21% of private investors
• This suggests businesses are approaching crypto with more sophisticated diversification strategies

Private vs. Business Investment: Key Contrasts

The report highlights significant differences between private and business investor behaviors. There are differences in sentiment (see infographic above) but also in actual investments :

1. Adoption rates: 16% of private investors versus 40% of businesses have crypto exposure (honestly, this is surprising to me as crypto was a retail first asset class)
2. Investment vehicles: Private investors prefer direct Bitcoin investments, while businesses favor indirect exposure
3. Investment motivations: 43% of private investors cite “investment purposes” as their primary reason, while businesses pursue longer-term strategic value. Obviously, Europeans (private and business investors alike) aren't plagued by high inflation rates or major political instabilities that result in the need to hedge.
4. Regulatory concerns: 29% of UK private investors cite regulatory uncertainty as a barrier, versus just 21% of business investors overall
5. Wealth correlation: Among private investors, higher wealth correlates with higher crypto investment (50% of those with assets over €100,000 invest versus 30% below this threshold)

The Neobank Divide: Private vs. Business Preferences

A striking finding (but not surprising) in the report reveals a clear divide in service provider preferences between private and business investors. Private investors show significant openness to using specialized crypto platforms and neobanks, with UK data indicating only 12% prefer traditional banks as their crypto partners. In contrast, businesses predominantly favor traditional institutions or specialized crypto exchanges:

• 36% of businesses prefer crypto exchanges
• 33% prefer crypto brokers
• 27% would consider traditional banks
• Only 18% would use neobanks (and in the UK, this drops to just 6%)

This divide highlights how businesses prioritize regulatory compliance, institutional security, and established relationships when selecting crypto partners. Meanwhile, private investors tend to seek specialized platforms offering better user experiences and potentially more innovative services.

Country Spotlight: The Regulatory Impact

The report demonstrates how regulatory environments significantly influence adoption across Europe, with countries taking distinctly different approaches:

• Switzerland leads with 1,290 Web3/blockchain companies, thanks to early regulatory clarity (since 2017), operating outside the EU’s MiCAR framework with its own comprehensive regulations
• UK hosts the highest number (1,844) of crypto companies despite regulatory uncertainty, leveraging its status as a global financial hub
• France exemplifies a “MiCAR-anticipator” approach, having established its PACTE Act in 2019 that created a national regulatory framework aligned with principles later adopted in MiCAR, allowing it to smoothly transition to the EU-wide regulations
• Austria demonstrates the phased implementation reality of MiCAR, having recently begun accepting applications under the new EU framework
• Poland shows a paradox where traditional financial institutions remain cautious while retail adoption flourishes (3 million Poles investing in crypto)

While MiCAR provides a unified regulatory baseline for EU member states with implementation occurring throughout 2024–2025, the fragmentation in regulatory approaches across the broader European landscape continues to significantly influence adoption rates and institutional strategies.

The Untapped Opportunity: Bridging the Readiness Gap

The report reveals a substantial mismatch between institutional readiness and investor interest that represents a significant market opportunity. This gap is evident through several key data points:

1. Demand perception vs. reality: Financial institutions state that only 19% of their clients show high demand for crypto products, yet the survey shows that over 30% of private investors in certain markets are either invested or planning to invest in crypto. This underestimation of market potential represents direct revenue opportunities that financial institutions are potentially missing.
2. Future growth intentions: While 18% of financial institutions plan to launch crypto offerings within three years, 30% of businesses and 12% of private investors who aren’t currently in crypto express intentions to enter the market. This signals growing demand that may outpace institutional capacity or result in a sizable advantage in favor of the FIs that offer crypto services.
3. Service capability gaps: Most financial institutions offering crypto focus on basic custody (41%) and brokerage (31%), while investor needs are evolving toward more sophisticated services like staking (in the UK, 36% of private investors are interested in staking services, yet only 7% of European financial institutions offer this).
4. Business investment readiness: The fact that 40% of businesses already have crypto exposure compared to only 41% of financial institutions even offering services reveals how traditional finance is lagging behind its corporate clients in crypto adoption. This mismatch between demand and supply is staggering, and as regulatory clarity continues to improve across Europe, we can expect this gap to close as financial institutions recognize the thinking of their forward-thinking corporate clients.
5. White-label dependency: With 47% of financial institutions relying on white-label solutions rather than developing in-house capabilities, this indicates that traditional financial services providers view crypto services as complementary and not core.

Given the shift in sentiment, the relatively high business investments, and the gradual regulatory clarity, one can say that the scale of the untapped opportunity is staggering. The report sizes the European private investor total addressable market (TAM) around over €25 trillion. This immense potential stems from 411 million private individuals at investment-seeking age and a wealth of business clients[2] who express overwhelmingly positive sentiment toward crypto. Financial institutions that fail to bridge this readiness gap risk losing significant market share. Crypto is clearly recognized as a new asset class moreso, by corporates than by retail. Its transformative potential ironically, is increasingly recognized by institutions and will be realized over the next decade.

The European crypto landscape reflects a market at an inflection point. With increasing regulatory clarity through frameworks like MiCAR, strong investor sentiment (56% of business investors and 27% of private investors expect increased relevance), and high institutional recognition of crypto’s potential, the foundation appears set for accelerated adoption. However, the substantial gap between institutional readiness and investor interest suggests a significant untapped opportunity remains.

In conclusion, while private investors have embraced neobanks and fintech platforms for their crypto needs, businesses show a clear preference for specialized crypto providers or traditional financial institutions. With only 18% of businesses willing to use neobanks for crypto services (dropping to just 6% in the UK), traditional financial institutions have a unique opportunity to serve the corporate crypto market.

Private banks appear to understand this opportunity, with 100% offering crypto services, but regional, large, and universal banks urgently need to recognize this unserved market segment. As businesses trust established financial partners for regulatory compliance and security, traditional institutions that bridge this gap can capture significant market share in the business crypto space before specialized providers consolidate their position.

This article is sponsored by Bitpanda Technologies, a digital assets infrastructure provider. All content, including curation and opinions, reflects my personal views.

[1] Staking services are predominantly offered by crypto-specialized service providers. The only mention example of a traditional financial institution offering staking is Postfinance in Switzerland.

[2] The TAM of business clients in Europe is not a statistic that is included in the report.