Bulgaria's Fibank Will Offer Crypto to Over 1 Million Customers

Bulgaria's First Investment Bank, known as Fibank, plans to let more than one million customers invest in crypto inside its My Fibank app. The service runs on infrastructure from Bitpanda Enterprise and is expected to launch in early 2027, which would make Fibank the first bank in Bulgaria with crypto built into its app.

Bitpanda announced the partnership on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. It became one of the most shared bitcoin stories on X on Saturday, October 10, after Bitcoin Magazine posted it to its feed.

Key takeaways

• Fibank, the largest Bulgarian-owned bank, is adding crypto investing to the My Fibank app with Bitpanda Enterprise as its technology partner.
• More than one million Fibank customers are expected to get access when the service launches in early 2027.
• Bitpanda will be the only provider of crypto asset services in the app.
• Fibank was Bulgaria's fifth-largest bank by assets at the end of August 2026, according to central bank data cited by SeeNews.
• No pricing, fees or coin list has been published yet.

What did Fibank and Bitpanda announce?

According to Bitpanda's press release, Bitpanda Enterprise has partnered with Fibank to integrate crypto investing into the My Fibank app. The service will be built on Bitpanda Enterprise's infrastructure and will give Fibank's more than one million customers access to digital assets alongside their existing banking.

Bitpanda will provide the crypto asset services on its own. Fibank handles the customer relationship and the app.

The release does not list which coins will be available at launch. Bitpanda's own platform offers bitcoin, and Bitcoin Magazine's post framed the news as Fibank offering bitcoin to its clients.

Nikola Bakalov, the chief executive of Fibank, said in the release that it was important the service is being launched "alongside an established European technology partner and in compliance with applicable European requirements." Nadeem Ladki, Global Head of Bitpanda Enterprise, said banks are playing a central role in bringing digital assets into mainstream finance.

Who is Fibank?

Fibank describes itself as the largest bank with Bulgarian-owned capital. It operates mainly in Bulgaria, with a branch in Cyprus and a subsidiary bank in Albania, and serves retail customers, small businesses and large companies.

SeeNews reported that Fibank was the country's fifth-largest bank by assets at the end of August 2026. Its shares trade on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, where they were down 2.70% at 4.32 euros on Thursday, October 8, the day after the announcement.

Who is Bitpanda Enterprise?

Bitpanda Enterprise is the institutional arm of Bitpanda. It sells banks, fintechs, brokers and other firms a single stack for crypto investing, liquidity, custody, payments, stablecoins and tokenization.

Fibank joins a partner list that, per Bitpanda and The Paypers, already includes N26, Société Générale, Deutsche Börse Group, selected Raiffeisen Banks, RAKBANK and Onda Finance. SeeNews reported that Bitpanda has more than 7 million customers, citing Bitpanda's website.

Why does bank-integrated crypto matter for bitcoin holders?

This is the slow, unglamorous kind of adoption that tends to stick. A customer who already has a checking account and a card in one app can buy crypto without opening a separate exchange account, moving money out of the bank or learning a new interface.

Bitpanda framed it the same way in its release: the first wave of crypto adoption came through exchanges and crypto-native users, and the next wave is coming through the banks people already use.

It follows a pattern 21Rates has been tracking in the US, where Citi and Morgan Stanley are building native bitcoin banking and Minnesota cleared local banks to hold bitcoin for customers.

Bitcoin traded near $83,001 on Saturday afternoon, up about 0.5% on the day, according to Yahoo Finance data.

What should bitcoin holders and borrowers watch?

The launch is still more than a few months away, and the important details are not public yet. Three things will decide how useful it is:

• Custody and withdrawals. Bank-integrated crypto often holds coins with the provider. Whether customers can withdraw bitcoin to their own wallet is the first question to ask. Our bitcoin custody guide covers the main models.
• Fees and spreads. Neither company has published pricing. Compare it against a dedicated exchange once it is live. Our best bitcoin exchanges for Q4 2026 ranking is a useful baseline.
• What you can do with it. Buying is step one. Holders who want to borrow against bitcoin without selling it still need a lender, and rates and loan-to-value limits vary widely across the bitcoin lending platforms we track.

FAQ

When will Fibank customers be able to buy crypto? The service is expected to launch in early 2027, according to Bitpanda. No exact date or coin list has been announced.

How many people will get access? Bitpanda and Fibank say more than one million Fibank customers will be able to access digital assets through the My Fibank app.

Who runs the crypto side of the service? Bitpanda Enterprise provides the infrastructure, and Bitpanda will be the sole provider of crypto asset services in the app.

Is Fibank the first Bulgarian bank to offer crypto? According to Bitpanda and SeeNews, Fibank will be the first bank in Bulgaria to integrate crypto access into its mobile banking app once the service launches.