Only two years ago, we introduced the Bitpanda Ecosystem Token (BEST). More than €43 million were invested into BEST via Europe’s biggest Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) to date. Conceived as an utility token to let our loyal fans participate in the growth of Bitpanda, BEST achieved several major milestones over the last two years. To name a few: we have introduced the BEST Rewards loyalty programme, celebrated seven token burns, listed BEST on other major exchanges and continuously added more and more benefits for our BEST VIP holders. And of course, we are working on many more projects behind the scenes, which will add even more reasons to hold BEST.
Today, we would like to say thank you to all of you who are holding and using BEST to pay their trading premiums and trading fees and to claim their rewards every month.
Celebrate with us and win BEST
In this promotion, we are giving away 25,000 BEST in total. There are two ways that you could win:
Everyone who buys at least €25 worth of BEST between the 6th of August, 2021, 12:00 pm (CET) and the 13th of August, 2021, 11:59 am (CET) on Bitpanda (not Bitpanda Pro) will be eligible to win 1,500 BEST. So, 15,000 BEST will be raffled to 10 users.
Plus, the user with the highest total amount of BEST purchased (multiple buys also count towards the total amount) between the 6th of August, 2021, 12:00 pm (CET) and 13th of August, 2021, 11:59 am (CET) on Bitpanda (not Bitpanda Pro) will receive 10,000 BEST.
All the winners will be credited and will receive BEST directly on their wallet on Bitpanda. Bitpanda will strive to transfer the prize to the respective winners by the 20th of August, 2021. The applicable terms and conditions can be found here.
Plus, there is even more. Besides giving away BEST, we would also like to reward the community for their continuous support. Therefore, we are giving away exclusive BEST merchandise to our Twitter and Instagram followers and of course our Telegram community. How can you participate? Join at least one of our BEST Telegram groups and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to be the first to know about the details.
So, what has happened over the last year?
BEST gaining popularity
We are glad to see that BEST has gained popularity among our users when it comes to its usage. BEST Rewards represent Bitpanda’s loyalty programme and are a great benefit where our users can increase their BEST holdings on Bitpanda by more than 12% per year. We have seen an increase of 282% of users claiming their BEST Rewards since June last year. In fact, we paid out 23% more BEST Rewards last month alone compared to the whole of last year.
When it comes to paying trading premiums with BEST, we have had a steady past few months and around a quarter of our active users are using BEST to pay trading premiums and fees. During the lastest bull run, BEST saw a record price movement when it almost reached €2.60 in April, 2021 and over €1 billion in terms of market capitalisation.
BEST also reached a record €23 million trading volume in April on both BEST/BTC and BEST/EUR markets combined on Bitpanda Pro.
New collaborations and benefits for VIPs
Over the last year, we partnered up with partners like Trezor, Dashlane or IntoTheBlock to ensure the best deals for our BEST VIPs. And, as we have launched new products like the Bitpanda Card and Bitpanda Stocks*, we of course didn’t forget about exclusive benefits for BEST holders. For example, as a BEST VIP, you can earn up to 2.00% cashback in Bitcoin and get unlimited free ATM withdrawals and FX fee reductions. Additional benefits for BEST holders are also ensured when investing in Bitpanda Stocks. Since Bitpanda Stocks is offered commission-free, there are spreads** instead of commissions. All of our BEST holders have the option to pay the spread using BEST and get a discount of up to 20%.
Token burns
Since the last anniversary, we have had four burn events, where we burned (destroyed) in total 103,006,827 BEST which was equivalent to €76,090,972. Our very last burn took place only one week ago on the 29th of July, where we burned 15,812,733 BEST. Plus, only three months ago, we had a record burn event where we burned (destroyed) more than €50 million in BEST. Read more about that here. The next token burn will take place on the 28th of October, 2021 and we can’t wait to see how much BEST will be burned this time! Generally speaking, the amount of BEST destroyed was significantly higher when compared to last year. The strong quarters of BEST usage since the last anniversary have been beneficial to the amount of BEST burned and overall we are glad to see that BEST’s adoption is increasing.
Coin Votes
All BEST VIP users have a say in strategic decisions about which coins will be integrated on Bitpanda next. Since our last anniversary, we held two coin votes and our BEST VIP users have decided to add 10 new coins. Our Coin Votes are held regularly and if you want to be part of them, make sure to hold at least 5,000 BEST in your Bitpanda wallet to attain your BEST VIP status.
BEST now available on other major exchanges
Since we want to give access to BEST to as many people as possible we decided to get BEST listed on three other crypto exchanges besides Bitpanda and Bitpanda Pro. BEST is available to trade on Bitfinex and on Bittrex Global and you can also trade BEST against Bitcoin on HitBTC. However, it is worth bearing in mind that you can only get the most out of BEST by keeping your holdings on Bitpanda - as you can only get access to the vast amount of BEST benefits there.
Bitpanda Plus programme
End of 2020, we have also announced that as a BEST VIP level 3 holder, you are automatically eligible for the Bitpanda Plus programme. As a Plus user, you will receive exclusive support with personalised updates about new products, you can get increased limits for deposits and withdrawals and you will have a direct impact on upcoming features and asset listings.
Overall, we are very proud of how BEST evolved over the year and can’t wait to see what the next year will bring. Don’t forget to keep an eye on our Bitpanda Blog for more news regarding BEST and other projects.
*Bitpanda Stocks are contracts replicating an underlying stock or ETF. More information and the prospectus are available at bitpanda.com.
**For more information, see the Cost Transparency Document of Bitpanda Stocks.
