MiCA is forcing a venue migration in Europe, and Bitpanda is paying 5% in BTC to relocate assets for EU users

For traders in the EU, there's been a lot of chatter about MiCA and its impact on crypto exchanges. A lot of exchanges are either limiting what they offer to European users or pulling out of the region entirely. This puts a lot of capital at risk and users need to be proactive about it.

For those who don't know me, I work in web3 and write content on projects and what's happening in the space.

The exchange Bitpanda is running a campaign that fits this moment and helping out users who may be looking to switch exchanges. They're one of the longer-standing European platforms that's fully regulated and stayed compliant through the MiCA transition, and right now they'll pay you to move assets over. The campaign is called Bring Your Assets. Basically, you transfer your crypto into a Bitpanda account, leave it 30 days, and get 5% back paid in Bitcoin.

Bitpanda is a regulated custodial exchange, so while you won't be able to do anything onchain, if you're a "buy-and-hold" type of investor and want the benefits of a CEX, this is a nice little boost. If you keep everything in self-custody and never touch an exchange, this isn't aimed at you. Where it makes sense is if you already hold balances on exchanges, or your current European venue is one of the ones cutting back, and you'd rather consolidate onto something regulated that isn't going anywhere. Effectively, you're getting paid 5% to move assets.

Some details: The campaign runs from 18 June to 5 July 2026. You transfer crypto into your Bitpanda account through the app or website during that window, and it needs to stay there for 30 days. Everyone who qualifies gets 5% cashback paid in Bitcoin on the amount they bring over. The first 1,000 participants who move €1,000 or equivalent lock in €50 in BTC, which is that same 5% shown as a round number. Cashback is credited by 30 July 2026. It's open to fully verified users in selected European countries, with the full list on the campaign page (https://www.bitpanda.com/en/campaigns/bya-june-26).

MiCA is going to keep separating the platforms that did the regulatory work from the ones that didn't, and EU users are going to keep consolidating toward the compliant ones. Bitpanda paying to accelerate that is a smart use of the moment. If you were already going to hold on an exchange, 5% in BTC to pick a regulated one is a reasonable deal.

Note: While I did my due diligence and there's no obvious risk with Bitpanda collapsing, I obviously can't guarantee that. Please make sure you are familiar with the risks associated with custodial accounts. Bitpanda has been around for quite some time and has never had any issues. DYOR & NFA - this post is for informational purposes.